Nigeria plans to go all out against New Zealand to make a point

By Rasheed Adewuyi

The Super Falcons will seek victory over World Cup co-hosts the Football Ferns in Turkey on Tuesday to prove that their recent wins over Costa Rica and Haiti were no flukes, says team captain Onome Ebi.

Goals from Esther Okoronkwo and Asisat Oshoala steered the nine-time African champions past Haiti in Antalya on Thursday, for a second consecutive win on the road. This came after the 1-0 defeat of Costa Rica at the Revelation Cup Tournament in Mexico, with the goal also coming off Okoronkwo’s boots.

“We have to maintain the form that we have attained over the past two matches,” Ebi told thenff.com moments after the team’s last training session at the Emir Sports Complex on Sunday. “It is important for us to keep up the momentum, to keep winning and know that we can always overwhelm our opponents. The spirit is back and we are determined to sustain it.”

Tuesday’s clash against New Zealand will take place at the Mardan Sports Complex in Antalya, as from 4pm Turkish time (2pm Nigeria time).

Ebi, who has played in five FIFA World Cup finals (USA 2003, China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015 and France 2019) will be making her sixth appearance at football’s top tournament for women when Nigeria takes on co-hosts Australia, Canada and Republic of Ireland in Melbourne and Brisbane this summer.

“We suffered a poor patch for some months but we are happy to start winning again. The hard job is to sustain the winning streak and we’re ready to do that hard work.”