The Super Falcons of Nigeria suffered a 1-0 loss to Spain in their matchday two fixture of the Paris 2024 Olympics Women’s football tournament at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Sunday.
Randy Waldrum made two changes to his side that lost 1-0 to Brazil in their opening match at the Matmut Atlantique Stadium in Bordeaux on Thursday. Six-time CAF Women’s Player of the Year Asisat Oshoala returned to the starting lineup, as Esther Okoronkwo got the nod over Paris Saint Germain Jennifer Echegini.
As Spain’s head coach Montserrat Tomé predicted, Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was exceptional for Nigeria between the sticks in the opening stages of the encounter in Nantes. The 23-year-old was shielded by the centre-back pairing of Ohale Osinachi and Oluwatosin Demehin, as they formed a solid defence against the World Champions.
After several minutes of being outplayed, the Super Falcons got their first real break when Oshoala played captain Rasheedat Ajibade through on goal. However, the winger couldn’t get the ball under control, leaving Nigeria’s biggest chance to go begging.
Spain nearly took the lead before the halftime break, but the ever-dependable Nnadozie made a save of the tournament contention effort to deny Alexia Puttelas from close range.
Barely eight minutes into the second half, Salma Paralluelo thought she had given Spain the lead, but a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check chalked off the goal for an offside in the build-up.
A good combination between Oshoala and Ajibade after the one-hour mark put the 27-year-old in a pole position to break the deadlock, but her effort went over the box as Randy Waldrum looked on to his options on the bench.
As it turned out, Nnadozie was eventually beaten by an 85th-minute freekick from two-time Ballon d’Or Fémiini winner Putellas, who was a constant threat throughout the game.
The loss means Nigeria are currently ranked fourth out of the four teams in Group C after suffering two consecutive 1-0 losses in Paris. Next up for the nine-time African champions is their final group game against Japan who defeated Brazil 2-1 earlier.
Spain leads Group C with six points, while Japan and Brazil trail with three points apiece after the conclusion of the matchday two fixtures in the group. A convincing win for Nigeria and a loss to Brazil in the final fixtures could still see the Falcons qualify out of the group.
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