AWCON 2022 Qualifiers: Litmus Test for Waldrum as Super Falcons Seek Revenge Against Lady Elephants

By Harry Awurumibe, Africa’s No.1 Women’s Football Journalist

All is set for the ‘win or burst’ Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) first leg final round qualifier match involving reigning African Champions, Nigeria’s Super Falcons and visiting Lady  Elephants

(Les Femelles Elephantes) of Cote d’Ivoire billed for Friday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

Few years ago, a match between both countries’ women’s football teams would have been considered a mis-match because of the achievements of the Super Falcons in African continent  and in the world football.

Super Falcons, 11-time African Champions, (if the 1991 and 1995 records before the introduction of African Women Championship (AWC) now (AWCON) are anything to rely upon) are Africa’s Best Team of all time.

Except on two occasions when neighbours, Equatorial Guinea snapped up the AWCON coveted trophy in 2008 and 2012 on home soil, Nigeria has won all the editions since the first edition held in 1998 and the last competition in 2018 in Nigeria and Ghana respectively.

But times have changed as Les Femelles Elephantes, although ranked very low at 64 as against Super Falcons 41 in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, have the bragging rights going into the Friday’s encounter because Cote d’Ivoire eliminated Nigeria in the race for a ticket to represent Africa in the last Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan in 2020.

In the Olympics qualifiers played in October 2019, Nigeria and Cote d Ivoire played out a barren in Abidjan only for the visitors to force Nigeria to 1-1 draw in the second leg tie days after at the Agege Stadium, Lagos thus qualifying for the next round on an away goals rule.

For this reason, the Super Falcons who lost out then are poised to take their  pound of flesh against Les Femelles Elephantes in Abuja even as Coach Waldrum’s coaching prowess will be gauged by the outcome of the two-leg matches starting with the home match.

Luckily, the American tactician has enough ammunition in his armory to gun down the rampaging Elephants from Cote d’Ivoire. Waldrum has in his fold Africa’s reigning Best Female Footballer of the Year in Asisat Lamina Oshoala and co.

Also, in Falcons team are no fewer than 24 other foreign-based professional players who are doing great in their clubs including the two goals heroine in the last qualifiers against Ghana Black Queens in Lagos, Uchenna Kanu who is in the payroll of Tigres FC of Mexico.

There are first-choice goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie of FC Paris, France; attacking midfielder and Atlectico Madrid star, Rasheedat Ajibade and defence marshal, Onome Ebi of Minsk FC of Belarus.

Indeed, the Super Falcons are loaded  to the hilt as there will be no excuse on Friday for Coach  Waldrum and his wards not to grind out a comfortable home win to make the return leg tie in Abidjan a mere academic exercise.

However, the match will be won or lost from the  bench as the tricky Ivorien side that is vastly improved has an experienced Coach in Madame Clementine Tourè who has turned the fortunes of the team around tremendously since she was appointed Head Coach in 2010. She has qualified the team to back to back AWCON and FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015.

The Super Falcons edged Ghana to reach the final qualification stage but this will be their biggest test yet just as Cote d’Ivoire made a mockery of the Niger Republic in their last qualification series with a 20-0 aggregate scoreline to get to this stage.

The Ivoiren team will definitively also come into the clash in Abuja full of confidence that they knocked out the Super Falcons in the qualification series for the 2020 Olympics  on home ground and can do it again if given a chance this time around.

This is why the Super Falcons and Les Femelles Elephantes encounter is delicately poised to be a battle of the titans, although the Nigerian ladies are condemned to win the first leg match on home soil despite the resilience of the Ivoiren team. But, with the benefit of hindsight and experience of covering the women’s game over three decades, it will be the biggest upset in world football if Nigeria fails to qualify for AWCON Morocco 2022 slated for July.