… as Nigeria battle Japan for quarter-finals spot today
The Super Falcons of Nigeria are seizing the opportunity created by FIFA’s decision to deduct six points from Canada for espionage.
Recall that Canada’s drone scandal rocked the Paris Olympic soccer tournament, and Canada’s team were docked six points, while Priestman and officials Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander were banned from any soccer-related activity for one year by FIFA.
Earlier on Sunday, Sport Canada said it was withholding funding allocated for salaries of Priestman and two other suspended team officials.
Sport Canada is in the process of determining the exact amount of funding to be withheld, the Minister’s office told Reuters in a statement, adding the withheld funding will not impact the overall available funding to the women’s program.
Notwithstanding, Suspended Canadian women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman apologised on Sunday to her players and the nation for the drone scandal that led to her exit from the Paris Olympics and dealt a blow to the team’s hopes of a repeat gold medal.
In her first public comments since Canada Soccer suspended her from the Games, Priestman said as the leader of the team she accepts accountability and plans to fully cooperate with the investigation.
According to Nigeria’s coach, Randy Waldrum the deduction means that no third-placed team from Group A which includes Colombia, France, Canada, and New Zealand can qualify for the quarter-finals. The tournament format allows the top two teams from each of the three groups to qualify directly for the quarter-finals, along with the two best third-placed teams from across the groups.
Canada, currently third in Group A, faces a six-point deduction despite having won two matches. Like Nigeria, they now have no points. If the deduction is enforced with the forfeiture of two matches and a six-goal deficit, Canada would be out of contention as one of the best third-placed teams.
Waldrum told Sports Village Square that even if Nigeria had drawn the game with Spain, they still need a result in the last in Wednesday’s match against Japan.
Former Nigerian international Dosu Joseph has urged fans to stay hopeful about the Super Falcons’ chances of advancing to the knockout stages of the Paris 2024 Olympic Women’s Football tournament, despite a recent 1-0 defeat to Spain.
After the narrow loss, which left the Super Falcons at the bottom of Group C, Joseph expressed confidence in the team’s ability to progress.
“It’s been tough for the Super Falcons after playing Brazil and Spain. The team narrowly lost to both teams, but I am still confident that it’s not yet over for them,” Dosu told Complete Sports.
Emphasising the mathematical possibility of qualification, Dosu noted, “There is still an outside chance for the team to qualify if they get a positive result against Japan, who are currently on three points. It would be wrong to write off the team.”
In their match against Spain, Nigeria’s Super Falcons displayed a strong defensive performance, frustrating the reigning world champions for much of the game. However, a brilliant free-kick by Spanish captain Alexia Putellas in the 85th minute shattered Nigeria’s hopes. Despite the setback, the Super Falcons launched a desperate late attack, with substitute Chinwedu Ihezuo coming close to equalizing. Unfortunately, her effort fell short, leaving Nigeria to regret missed opportunities.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons face an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout stages of the Paris 2024 Olympics after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Spain in their second group game.
This defeat follows an opening group game defeat to Brazil, and Randy Waldrum’s side now find themselves with zero points from two matches, making their qualification prospects quite slim.
Nonetheless, these disappointing results, hope is not lost for the Super Falcons.
Pulse Sports understands that they can still qualify as one of the best third-place teams in the group stage, but it will require a convincing win in their final game against Japan. Specifically, they need to win by at least a two-goal margin to have a chance of advancing to the next round.
This means that they must not only secure a victory but also wipe out the goal difference as Japan’s 2-1 win against Brazil gives them 3 points and a goal difference of zero.
A win by two goals or more would give Nigeria chance to progress as one of the best third-place teams, but anything less would likely see them eliminated from the competition.
Emphatically, Waldrum’s Super Falcons will need to be significantly better to take all three points against Japan in Bordeaux on Wednesday.
