Paris 2024: Can Waldrum fix Super Falcons’ struggling attack ahead of Olympics showdown?

The Super Falcons of Nigeria celebrated a triumphant return to the Olympics on Tuesday, after edging South Africa to end a 16-year absence from the global stage.

Amidst the jubilations and euphoria, an important question lingers: can head coach Randy Waldrum solve the Falcons’ offensive woes as they gear up to face the world’s best teams in Paris?

After a two-legged fixture against Desiree Ellis’ South Africa, Nigeria failed to score from open play, and only made it through to the Olympics thanks to captain Rasheedat Ajibade’s 43rd-minute penalty in Abuja, and their defensive resilience that immensely benefited from Chiamaka Nnadozie’s brilliance.

The Falcons’ record of never losing to the Banyana in South Africa might have been an indicator of the positives to expect ahead of the second leg in Pretoria, but not many foresaw Nnadozie keeping a back-to-back clean sheet against the current African champions.

“The goalkeeper (Chiamaka Nnadozie) was magnificent and she stood between us and qualification to the Olympics,” coach Ellis lamented after Nnadozie kept her fifth straight clean sheets in Nigeria’s qualifier run, against her side.

“We threw the kitchen sink at them in the second half, but they defended resolutely.”

Defensively, it was a job well done for Waldrum and his coaching crew, but the Super Falcons’ continued inability to utilize their chances raises concerns about their capability to compete with elite opposition en route to Paris.

Nigeria’s performance against their penultimate opposition—the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon— in the Olympic qualifier is somewhat akin to what we witnessed in the final round.

It took Esther Okoronkwo’s lone goal at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium to get past the Lionesses following a goalless draw in Douala.

To Waldrum’s dismay, the victory was marred with loads of missed chances.

“In the match, we had some chances that we missed and it was a match we really struggled to win,” the 67-year-old said as quoted by Football411 in February.

“You can go back and look at the opportunities that we had. We could have easily finished the game at halftime.

“So, we have to be more efficient and clinical around our opponents’ vital areas and convert chances into goals.”

About 41 days after admitting the obvious flaw in his setup, the American tactician blurred out similar rhetoric post-qualification.

“It is a huge accomplishment for Nigeria and we defended brilliantly. There is work to be done when it comes to our attack, and we will improve before heading to France,” Waldrum told French outlet, France 24.

Nigeria’s qualification places them in Group C where they’ll face current World Cup holder Spain, 2011 World Cup winner Japan and 2007 runners-up Brazil in what has been dubbed the group of death.

The popular notion is that “defence wins you championships,” but from a personal perspective, the Super Falcons’ Olympic journey is more likely to be short-lived if this attacking weakness persists till the commencement of the tournament on July 26.