By Akeem Lawal
THE Super Falcons are back in the hunt for a place in the last 16 of the ongoing France 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after executing a counter-attacking game plan to perfection to record a 2-0 victory over South Korea.
They enjoyed a slice of fortune with the own goal that gave them the lead but there was nothing lucky about Asisat Oshoala's excellent second goal.
Oshoala (2015 & 2019) has become just the second Nigerian to score in two different Women's World Cup tournaments after Rita Nwadike (1995 & 1999).
The Super Falcons are now set the stage for a fierce encounter with host nation France on Monday next week, as they look to reach the knockout rounds for the first time in 20 years.
Speaking after the encounter, Player of The Match, Asisat Oshoala said, “At first, I think we were a little bit scared of losing and going out. But after a while we just decided to go for it. I always say that I’m never under pressure – I just go on the pitch and do my job. It’s an 11-player game and I just look to enjoy the game, have fun and do the right thing for my team. The group is wide open now. We just have to concentrate now on making sure we get the points we need against France.”
Super Falcons coach, Thomas Dennerby on his post match reaction said,“Today our discipline was better than against Norway – no mistakes at all. If we can be as compact as we were today, don’t let teams overplay us in midfield and find passes through, we know we’ll get opportunities for players like Asisat. The players followed our match plan and that’s all you can really ask. Now we go to play France, a really good team. If we can come out with a point everyone would be extremely happy. But you can’t just go to defend – you need to know what to do when you win the ball back. And hopefully we can have a little bit of success.”
Korea Republic coach, Yoon Dukyeo said, "First of all, I need to apologise to the fans who cheered for us here in the stadium and back home because we did not meet their expectations. But I do believe our players did their best in today's match. Our players had some good chances but the end result is a loss and we need to accept that. We have one match left here and I hope we can show everyone what we are capable of."
Latest standings:
Nigeria have joined France and Norway on three points, but it all looks pretty grim for Korea Republic. They'll need to beat the Norwegians, and likely beat them convincingly, to have a chance of advancing.
GROUP A
MP W D L GF GA +/- PTS
FRA. 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 3
NOR. 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3
NGA 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3
KOR 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0
Next up:
KOR-NOR - Tue 17 June, 21:00
NGA-FRA - Tue 17 June, 21:00
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