Ange N’guessan scored what could be the goal of the tournament so far when she struck Cote d’Ivoire’s consolation goal in their 3-1 defeat against fancied Norway in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Ivorians were already 3-0 down and heading out of the tournament following a 3-2 defeat to Thailand and an ignominious 10-0 thrashing at the hands of favourites Germany when N’guessan threw caution to the wind to advance solo on the Norway goal. From fully 30 yards out, the 24-year-old unleashed a fierce right footed shot that left Norway’s goalkeeper flapping her hands at thin air.
N’guessan’s teammates celebrated with her as if they had taken the title, even if, realistically, the disappointing defeat to Thailand four days earlier had sealed their fate before kick-off.
Women’s football in Africa will clearly have to embark on the same journey the men’s game began decades ago when they were notable for their defensive naivety.
Nigeria, who progressed to the Women’s World Cup finals as African champions, have shown great potential in attack in Canada, but they need to in order to compensate for the fact they are inevitably behind to poor goals.
With speed and physicality in abundance, women’s football in Africa needs to import some more tactical nous to produce World Cup winners, but it is surely just a matter of time.
