After defeating Ivory Coast 1-0 on Wednesday night and 3-0 on aggregate, the Super Falcons of Nigeria have booked a spot in the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
After Esther Okoronkwo scored the game’s only goal against the Lady Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in Abidjan too see the nine-time African champions through.
In the rematch at the Stade Robert Champroux, the Ivorians gave it their best, but they were up against a tough Nigerian defence and an outstanding goalkeeper in Chiamaka Nnadozie, who refused to give them scoring opportunity.
🗣️Our goalkeeping heroine @Nadoziechiamaka speaks on her penalty save and WAFCON 2022 target after a 1-0 victory over Cote d'Ivoire 🇨🇮 in Abidjan#SoarSuperFalcons #CIVNGA #team9jastrong #AWCONQualifier pic.twitter.com/3kT9lX1Qai
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) February 23, 2022
Neither side scored in the first half, however Francisca Ordega had a goal disallowed and Nnadozie saved a penalty kick from the visitors.
In only her second appearance for Nigeria, Esther Okoronkwo scored the game-winning goal a minute before the end of regulation time.
The Falcons’ hard-fought victory and qualification for Morocco 2022 is a fitting retaliation for the Lady Elephants, who made sure they denied the Falcons a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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