The Super Falcons have promised to beat Cape Verde again when they meet tomorrow in the second leg of their Morocco 2024 African Women’s Cup of Nations qualifier.
The Falcons’ delegation arrived in Praia at the weekend.
Nigeria beat Cape Verde 5-0 in the first leg of the tie in Abuja on Thursday and are tipped to complete the job against their hosts tomorrow.
Cape Verde need to win by more than 5-0 to upset the record African champions in the race to Morocco, but it is on record that no African team has beaten the Super Falcons by more than 3-0.
In the first leg at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, UchennaKanu and Esther Okoronkwo scored two goals each, with Gift Monday completing the rout.
The Super Falcons are vying to return to the African Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco, where they finished fourth at the last edition.
Without Coach Randy Waldrum, who led the team to a penalty shoot out away from the quarterfinals of the Australia/New Zealand 2023 FIFA World Cup, the team has been coached by Justin Mudugu.
Mudugu also led them to triumph over Ethiopia in the Paris 2024 Olympics qualifying series.
Speaking shortly before departure to Praia, Mudugu said the Falcons are still a “work in progress,” noting that there are still aspects of their game to be refined.
He assured that the Falcons will beat Cape Verde again tomorrow and promised that Nigerians would see a better team when the rest of the players rejoin the squad after tomorrow’s game.
The Super Falcons have been prosecuting the Morocco 2024 qualifiers without such notable stars as Asisat Oshoala, Toni Payne and Ashleigh Plumpthre.
Tomorrow’s game is scheduled for the Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, which has an artificial turf and sits about 15,000 fans.