WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Super Falcons’ World Cup opponents, Australia dare to dream
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face co-hosts, Australia in their second match of their group match.
Riding momentum and the support of a sports-mad nation, co-hosts Australia head into the Women’s World Cup dreaming of a first global title after battling for years to be counted among the heavyweights of the game.
The Matildas have travelled a rocky road since being bundled out of the round of 16 at the 2019 World Cup in France.
There were calls for coach Tony Gustavsson’s head last year as they crashed out of the Asian Cup quarter-finals, and again when they slumped to a 7-0 defeat by Spain.
However, they have since turned a corner, winning eight of their last nine matches, including a 2-0 defeat of England in London that snapped the European champions’ unbeaten run of 30 games.
Swede Gustavsson said he hoped his players could remain humble after the England upset but that has not stopped fans’ expectations from soaring into the stratosphere.
Australian Rules football and rugby league have long been the country’s favourite winter sports but soccer is now having its moment.
Fans are still buoyant after the performance of the men’s team at the World Cup in Qatar where they reached the last 16 before bowing out to eventual champions Argentina.
Sharing hosting duties with New Zealand, Australians have snapped up the lion’s share of the 1 million tickets sold so far for the women’s tournament.
More than 40,000 fans will watch the Matildas warm up in Melbourne against France a week before it starts, a local record crowd for a women’s soccer match.
Players hope home support might help them hoist the World Cup trophy and leave a similar legacy for the women’s game that England now enjoys after the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph.
“If you do well at a major tournament that you’re hosting, the effects and the ripple of that can be huge,” said defender Steph Catley, who plays club football in England with Arsenal.
“It’s gone through the roof since (the Euros) and grass-roots is benefiting from that.”
Since reaching the quarter-finals at the 2007 World Cup, Australia have aspired to greatness but flattered to deceive.
Barring talismanic striker-captain Sam Kerr, world class players have not been in abundance.
An over-reliance on Kerr has hurt the team, and as hard as Gustavsson has worked to build depth he will be praying she can avoid injury.
No player is anywhere near as clinical as Kerr in Australia’s forward positions and the Matildas, ranked 10th in the world, can struggle to unlock tight defences without her.
Australia’s own defence and box-to-box play has come a long way since their bleak period a year ago.
Even with key players out injured the midfield has shown itself capable against the world’s best and adaptable under pressure.
Most questions about Gustavsson’s starting 11 have been put to bed and the Swede has unearthed quality players to come off the bench including Charli Grant and Alex Chidiac.
Australia should canter into the knockout phase from Group B which also includes Canada, Ireland and Nigeria.
From there, they will hope to ride confidence, crowd energy and a bit of Kerr magic to go beyond the quarters for the first time.
-Reuters
Despite wintry conditions in Blida, on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, Algiers, Nigeria’s U17 girls dug their feet into the ground on Friday night.
They achieved a scoreless draw that qualified them for this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals.
Holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage, the 2002 bronze medallists adopted a calm and collected pattern that easily soaked up the expected pressure from the hosts and then relied on fast breaks to try and pull the trigger on their opponents.
Although they created better chances on the night, the Flamingos failed to make dominance in possession pay, but swiftly collected the ticket to Morocco on a 4-0 aggregate win.
The difference over two legs of the final round was a remarkable display in the opening leg by the Flamingos, during which a brace by Queen Joseph and one each by Zainab Raji and substitute Aisha Animashaun ensured a 4-0 win.
The Flamingos will now be one of Africa’s five representatives (including hosts Morocco) at this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals taking place from 17th October – 5th November. The final competition will entertain 24 teams for the very first time.
Since the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup competition was launched in New Zealand in 2008, Nigeria have failed to make the finals only once – the 2018 tournament hosted by Uruguay.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Despite heavy first leg loss, Algeria hopeful of a turnaround in Nigeria’s Flamingos clash
The Algeria U17 women’s national team still hope for a possible turnaround in this Friday night clash with Nigeria’s Flamingos.
Algeria lost 4-0 in the first leg match in Ikenne last Saturday.
The Algerians completed their preparations on Thursday at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Centre, the eve of the return match against Nigeria.
The return match is scheduled for this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida. Aggregate winners will pick a ticket to the FIFA U-17 Women’s 2025 World Cup.
According to sources in Algeria, all the players took part in the final session, during which coach Abdenour Mira finalised the tactical details for the make or mar encounter.
Despite the heavy defeat conceded in the first leg (4-0), the young Algerians approach this match with the desire to finish well and deliver an honourable performance against a formidable Nigerian team.
During the technical meeting held early in the afternoon at the FAF headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the two teams and the organisers, it was decided that Algeria will play in green, while Nigeria will wear white.
The match will be officiated by Cameroonian Aline Marie Noelle Guimbang, assisted by her compatriot Laurie Marcelle Tsafack Teikeu and Chadian Victorine Ngarassoum.
The fourth official will also be Cameroonian, Innoncentia Njang Ntangti.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Under possible cold weather in Blida, Nigeria’s Flamingos set to grab World Cup ticket
The weather is most likely to be cold, but Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, are set to continue a tradition of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, which has had eight editions, out of which the Flamingos featured in seven.
Only Japan, with 100 per cent attendance, has featured in more competitions than Nigeria’s Flamingos.
They look poised to feature again after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria in the first leg of the final qualifying series.
Apart from their opponents, Algeria, they have the expected cold weather to battle with at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida (outside Algiers), on Friday night.
Friday’s encounter against their Algerian counterparts is the final leg of a final qualifying round fixture, with the Flamingos, bronze-medallists from the 2022 finals in India and quarterfinalists from the last edition in the Dominican Republic, holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage.
The Federation Algerienne de Football (FAF) has scheduled the match to kick off at 8 pm, at a time when the winds will begin to blow in stronger from the Mediterranean Sea.
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