Super Falcons beat Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 to qualify for 2022 AWCON in Morocco on 3-0 aggregate

Nigeria’ senior female national team, the Super Falcons, Wednesday evening, in Abidjan defeated the Lady Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 in the second leg of the qualification to qualify for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) to be hosted by Morocco, this year.

The Super Falcons had, last week, defeated their Ivorien counterparts at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta by 2-0.

The Falcon have now qualified on a 3-0 aggregate.

The match played, in Abidjan, the Côte d’Ivoire capital city, saw the Falcons qualify for the championship through an Esther Okoronkwo’s 87th minute strike.

The Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie also saved a penalty in the first half, as the Super Falcons had a goal disallowed.

The AWCON final positions will decide who qualifies for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Falcons’ Captain, Asisat Oshoala, was conspicuously missing in Abidjan, as her teammates ensured the ticket for the continental tournament was won.

The Falcons have won the trophy for a record 10 times.

The falcons had, last Friday, in Abeokuta defeated the Lady Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire 2-0, with debutant Ifeoma Onumonu scoring twice to give her team a good head start in the pairing.

The win was in the first leg match of their final round fixture in the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) qualifiers.

In the match played at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, Nigeria’s persistence saw them opening scoring in the 21st minute.

That was when Esther Okoronkwo set up Onumonu inside the penalty box to fire the Super Falcons in front from close range.

Seven minutes later, Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was put to the test when Zote Nina sent a shot towards goal but she was quick to save it.

The Ivorians began to pile huge pressure from the commencement of the second half, in a bid to get an equaliser but the Falcons stood determined to extend the lead.

Team head coach Randy Waldrum sent in striker Uchenna Kanu for midfielder Amanda Mbadinuji in the 55th minute to bolster their play.

A minute later, the U.S-based Onumonu, who was making her debut national team appearance, latched on to another debutant’s floated pass.

Ashleigh Plumtree repulsed an Ivorian attack to float the ball from the left side to the right, and Onumonu only needed to lob over Ivorian goalkeeper Cynthia Djohore.

After the match, coach Waldrum said he was happy with the team’s performance.

“I thought that we had a good control of the game, so I am really proud of the players.

“We have Nnadozie, making a huge save at the end, keeping a clean sheet and we all know that it’s very important.

“We are also proud of this lady (Onumonu). This is her first opportunity to come to Nigeria and represent her country and she scored a brace.

“Ashleigh also gave a good account of herself and it was really a solid performance,” Waldrum said.

The 2022 AWCON in Morocco holds in June, this year.

This year’s AWCON edition will feature 12 teams and will commence from 2-23 July.

South Africa, beaten finalists against Nigeria in 2018, will become the final country to qualify if they can avoid defeat against Algeria in Wednesday’s late kick-off.

Teams that have so far qualified include:

Morocco (host nation); Nigeria; Cameroon; Uganda; Burundi; Senegal; Togo; Zambia; Tunisia; Burkina Faso; Botswana; and either of South Africa/Algeria.