The Super Falcons’ head coach, Randy Waldrum, has pointed towards insufficient preparation as the underlying cause for the team’s elimination from the women’s football competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics, as per NewsNow.
Nigeria’s journey at the tournament ended in the group stage with a 3-1 loss to Japan, marking their exit without a victory, having previously suffered defeats against Brazil and Spain, with identical scorelines of 1-0 in both matches.
Japan swiftly took a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes through Maika Hamano and Mina Tanaka, while Jennifer Echegini managed to reduce the deficit for the Super Falcons just before halftime. However, Hikaru Kitagawa extended Japan’s lead with a stunning free-kick before the break.
In order to progress to the quarterfinals, Nigeria needed to secure a victory by a margin of at least two goals, but they fell short against the 2011 World Champions, showcasing weaker performances compared to their earlier matches.
“Our preparation against all three opponents was affected by limited time,” Waldrum stated in an interview with ESPN.
“We missed out on crucial training days prior to the Olympics due to the last-minute window closure.”
Leading up to the Games, the Falcons trained for 10 days in Seville, Spain, an endeavor marred by visa complications that delayed the arrival of some invited players to the camp, as reported by NewsNow.
Despite being placed in a challenging group, optimism was rife regarding Waldrum’s squad following their commendable showing at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, where they were eliminated by England in the round of 16 via a penalty shootout.
The outcomes at the Paris Olympics were reminiscent of the 2008 team’s standings, having suffered defeats of 1-0 against the Korea Democratic People’s Republic, 1-0 against Germany, and 3-1 against eventual silver medalists Brazil.
Nigeria’s most notable achievement to date at the Women’s Olympic football tournament remains their 6th place finish at Athens two decades ago, where the Falcons bowed out in the quarterfinals.