Stella Mbachu, a former star of the Super Falcons, expressed her opinion that Nigeria’s senior women’s football team faced unfortunate circumstances leading to their exit from the women’s football event at the Paris 2024 Olympics during the group stage, as reported by PUNCH Sports Extra.
The team led by Randy Waldrum experienced a 3-1 loss to Japan in the final Group C match on Wednesday, resulting in their elimination from the competition after suffering defeats in all three games.
Placed in a tough group alongside Spain, Brazil, and Japan, the Falcons encountered a challenging task at the Olympics. They commenced their campaign on a disappointing note with a 1-0 loss to Brazil in the opening match. In the subsequent game against the reigning world champions Spain, the Falcons displayed an improved performance compared to their earlier match against the South Americans.
Having suffered a 1-0 defeat to Brazil initially, the 11-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions appeared set to secure a crucial point in the match against Spain on Sunday. However, a late goal from Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas resulted in Spain claiming all three points.
In the final game against Japan on Wednesday, the Falcons conceded two goals within the first half-hour before Jeniffer Echegini scored a remarkable goal, potentially contending for the tournament’s best, to narrow the scoreline to 2-1 for Nigeria.
Unfortunately, Tosin Demehin faced misfortune when a decision went against her as Venezuelan referee Emikar Calderas awarded a free kick to the Asian team in additional time’s last minute.
Left-back Hikaru Kitagawa capitalized on the resulting set piece to score past Chiamaka Nnadozie, extending Japan’s lead beyond the Falcons’ reach.
In an interaction with PUNCH Sports Extra, Mbachu, who earned 88 caps and scored 20 goals while representing Nigeria, remarked that her colleagues encountered misfortune during their Olympic journey.
“Despite the defeats, I believe they performed admirably; their outcomes were just influenced by bad luck,” she stated.