WAFCON S/Final: Morocco  hoping to banish ghost of 8-0 thrashing as Atlas Lionesses confront Super Falcons in Rabat tomorrow 

By Harry Awurumibe, Africa’s No.1 Women Football Journalist (Since 1990)

Morocco will fight to erase the sad memory of 8-0 humiliation the Atlas Lionesses suffered in the hands of Nigeria’s Super Falcons in the opening match of the maiden Confederation of African Football (CAF) African Women Championship (AWC) when both teams meet again in Rabat on Monday in the semi final tie of the on-going 2022 Women Africa Cup of Nation (WAFCON) in Morocco.

The first-ever match between both countries took place at Ranch Bees  Stadium, Kaduna in the northern part of Nigeria on Saturday, October 17, 1998, which will be exactly 24 years, six months and 18 days on Monday, July 28, 2022. The result of the  encounter was

a heart-break for the Moroccans who were over ran by a formidable Super Falcons team which did not lose any game to African opposition for over a decade, from 1991 to 2002.

Handled by former Green Eagles (Super Eagles) star, Coach Ismaila Mabo, the Super Falcons crushed every opposition and did not concede a single goal on the way to lifting the 1st WAFCON trophy after beating rivals Ghana Black Queens 2-0 in the epic final at Gateway Stadium, Abeokuta in Ogun state, courtesy of Nkeiru Okosieme and Stella Mbachu goals in the 43′ and 64′ respectively.

Since then Morocco and Nigeria have not met again and the closest they have been to square up was at last year’s 6-Nation Aisha Buhari Invitational tournament in Lagos but they did not meet again as the grouping separated both countries in the competition South Africa won, no thanks to the 4-2 mauling of Nigeria in the final match at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan.

But come Monday night at Complexe Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat at 21:00 Nigeria Time (+1 GMT), same as Morocco Time, both Nigeria and Morocco will clash in a high-profile match which will mean much to either side because the winner of the encounter will qualify for the 2022 WAFCON final. Host nation  defeated Botswana 2-1 in the quarter final to book a date with Nigeria who beat Cameroon 1-0 in another quarter final last Thursday.

On paper, Nigeria is heads and shoulders above Morocco, if the number of times the West Africans have won WAFCON can be used to gauge success.  Besides, to be a  9-time African Champions since 1998 is not a mere coincidence as the Super Falcons have earned their respect as the best team in Africa at the moment. Nigeria also parades high profile players in women’s football in Africa than any other African country which makes it for any coach to win trophies with the Super Falcons at any competition in the continent.

However, Atlas Lionesses Class of 2022 WAFCON are not the same as the Class of 1998 that Super Falcons took the cleaners 24 years ago because both Head Coach Reynald Pedro and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) under veteran African football administrator, President Fouzi Lekjaa whose four-year Women’s Football Development Plan has revolutionized women’s football in Morocco and Africa in general, have done great jobs in re-setting the team.

Specifically, President Fouzi Lekjaa’s foresight to hire a very technically and tactically sound coach, Reynald Pedros to be the Head Coach of Atlas Lionesses in 2020 has paid off handsomely as in less than two years, Morocco got her first FIFA Women’s World Cup ticket and a place in the team’s first-ever WAFCON semi final match.  Pedros, a master tactician with an intimidating records of successes with top European women’s football club, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, France, has done a fantastic job so far with the Atlas Lionesses.

He has brought his winning mentality which saw him lead the club to retain the Division 1 Féminine Championship for the 12th and 13th time and also succeeding in guiding the team to retaining the UEFA Women’s Champions League for the 3rd and 4th time, to bear as he has used the average Moroccan players he inherited to win many matches since he took charge of the team.

Coach Pedros has in his fold an admixture of  experience and youth, a combination which has seen the likes of team captain Ghizlane Chebbak, agile goalkeeper Khadija Err-michi, attacjers Rosella Ayane, Nesryne El Chad and defenders Zineb Redouani, Nahla Nakkach and Sabah Seghir as well as nimble-footed Fatima Tagnaout, churn out four victories out of four  in the tournament.

Indeed, Pedros-tutored Atlas Lionesses have not lost nor drawn any match in 2022 WAFCON and have scored 7 goals and conceded 2 goals while Nigeria has scored 8 goals and conceding 2 goals against South Africa in the 2-1 loss to the Banyana Banyana in the first game of the competition. This should serve as a boost for the Moroccans going into the crucial match on Monday.

For the above reasons, both teams seem to be matched in all aspects of the game, although the North Africans are showing both power and athleticism on similar scale as can be found in sub-Saharan teams  in this tournament.

In any case, this semi final match between Nigeria and Morocco , like the earlier tie between Nigeria and South Africa, will be won from the bench as the coach with better match strategy will carry the day.

This is where the expertise of Super Falcons Head coach Randy Marlon Waldrum, an American former professional soccer player and  the current Head coach of University of Pittsburgh’s Panthers women’s soccer team, will be put to serious test. Waldrum who had a stint as the Head coach of Trinidad and Tobago women’s national team for just two years was appointed into his present post by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in October 5, 2020, the same year  Morocco’s gaffer Pedros was hired.

The two foreign coaches will come face-to-face on Monday night to showcase their football coaching prowess and the coach whose players will be able to prosecute his tactics on the field of play will carry the day as a winner must emerge in this match.

Will it be the defending champions, Nigeria or the hosts, Morocco that will qualify for 2022 WAFCON final ?

Only 90 or 120 minutes will tell.