The Super Falcons won the 2019 WAFU Women’s Cup on Saturday in Abidjan after defeating hosts Cote d’Ivoire 5-4 on penalty kicks.
Nigeria swept to glory after a spate of spot kicks in an interesting final match at the Stade Robert Champroux.
The Ivorians took the lead in the 43rd minute of the encounter when Spain-based Ange Koko N’Guessan, who also scored for the Dame Elephantes against Mali in the semi-final, beat goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie with a marvellous free-kick.
Afterwards, the African champions created several chances without making hay. It was left to leggy forward Uchenna Kanu, the USA-based student, to draw Nigeria level in the fourth minute of added time in the second half.
Both sides went into a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. In the penalty shoot-out, Amarachi Okoronkwo, Maryam Ibrahim, Alice Ogebe, Joy Bokiri and captain Evelyn Nwabuoku made no mistake from the spot, while the Ivorians lost one of their kicks.
The Super Falcons had advanced into the final match following their triumph over 2018 winners Ghana winning the semi final derby after a penalty shoot-out, 4-2 on aggregate. On the whole, the African champions scored 23 goals in the tournament, conceding only two. They thrashed Burkina Faso 5-1, whitewashed Niger Republic 15-0, defeated Mali 2-0 and beat Ghana on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
The Ivorians, who were last year’s finalists, had defeated Mali 2-1 in the competition’s second semi-final match to secure a back-to-back final spot.
Aside her team’s success, falcon Uchenna Kanu ended the competition as the top scorer, after scoring 10 goals in five games for the Super Falcons.
Following the triumph in Abidjan, the Falcons returned to Abuja on Sunday as they shift focus to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, starting in France next month.
Goalkeepers Chiamaka Nnadozie, Alaba Jonathan and Christy Ohiaeriaku, defenders Evelyn Nwabuoku and Chidinma Okeke, midfielder Amarachi Okoronkwo and forward Alice Ogebe, flew to Austria on Monday evening for Nigeria’s pre-World Cup final camp, with technical and administrative staff.All overseas -based professionals will travel directly to the Avita Resort camp in Austria.
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be the eighth edition of the competition.
The competition is for the women’s national teams of the member-associations of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and it will hold from June 7 to July 7 in France.
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