Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum says he is elated with his team’s progress at the ongoing 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in spite of seeing an early shock.
When Nigeria lost their opening game against South Africa 2-1 on July 4 in Morocco, there was a lot of unrest within their camp and back home from the fans.
As if that was not enough, they lost star striker Asisat Oshoala to injury, which led to her being ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
However, with having a deeply-talented side like Nigeria, Waldrum made some changes to the team and has since been reaping the benefits.
“We played very well in the first half and were in control of the game but then we became a bit sloppy in the second half.
“There is definitely room for improvement, but I like the trajectory of the team so far,” he explained after their 4-0 win over Burundi on Sunday.
The Super Eagles have now kept two clean sheets at the WAFCON 2022.
Waldrum says this is a sign that things are starting to look good for them just like they planned.
“We are improving in every game that we play. We execute our plans well and I am happy with the way the players have reacted in our last two games. We have urgency in the way that we play.”
“We have also given an opportunity to younger players to get a feel of the tournament, so that we can also rest some of the players that have played heavy minutes.”
He said he was very impressed with the situation.
“Against Burundi on Sunday, we started Uchenna [Kanu] and she came through. Rasheedat [Ajibade] was great also. Peace [Ewomazino Efih] and Uchenna were great in the midfield.
“We have talent that is very beneficial. We have more good players to select from. I have confidence in what we are doing and we are in a really good place.”
Super Falcons have scored the most goals in the tournament, finding the back of the net an incredible seven times while only conceding twice.