Super Falcons striker, Dersir Oparonzie, exudes confidence as she anticipates Nigeria's progress from the group stage and advancement to the next round of the upcoming women's football tournament.
The highly anticipated global event, recognized as the world's largest women's football tournament, is set to take place from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
Nigeria finds itself in Group B alongside formidable opponents, including Olympic champions Canada, co-hosts Australia, and the Republic of Ireland, making the group stage a demanding challenge for the nine-time Africa champions.
Ahead of their World Cup campaign opener against Canada on July 21, Oparanozie shares her optimism, acknowledging Canada's status as a top team while emphasizing Nigeria's familiarity with them from previous encounters.
In an interview with Supersports, she states, "Canada are a top team, and the good thing is we have played them a couple of times and we know them very well." She further adds, "Having them in our group is not bad, it just means we are going to put in more work and devise a means to come out on top this time because the last time we were in the same group with them at a World Cup, they came out on top."
Oparanozie recognizes the significance of the first match against Canada and emphasizes the team's determination to change the outcome this time. She says, "This time we will have to change that, and we have the information needed to beat them, and we are playing them first, which is very vital for us if we are going to get to the next round."
Despite the challenging group, Oparanozie remains positive about Nigeria's chances of advancing. She highlights the team's resilience and ability to extract positive takeaways from previous encounters with Canada, regardless of the results. Oparanozie states, "All the time that we have played against them we've had something positive to go home with irrespective of the result."
The Nigerian senior women's national team enters the tournament in good shape, having secured three consecutive victories after breaking a seven-match winless streak. Coach Randy Waldrum recently finalized his 23-player squad for the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
No comments:
Post a Comment