Coach Justine Madugu says that Nigeria players remain concentrated and have not been, even after their big 5-0 victory against Zambia on Friday.
The Super Falcons crossed the copper queens in the quarter -final of the Women’s African Nations Cup, with goals from Osinachi Ohale, Esther Okoronkwo, Chinwendu Ihezuo, Oluwatosin Demehin and Folashade Ijamusi sealing the categorical victory.
Before the match at the Larbi Zaouli stadium in Casablanca, many expected that the southern Africans pose a serious challenge to the nine African champions, but that was not the case.
The praise continue to penetrate for the Nigerian ladies, but the coach Madugu insists that his players will remain anchored, taking each match because they present themselves while they are pursuing a tenth African record recorded.
“We are very happy that we have gone through this obstacle. We had a good performance, the girls organized a good performance and we won,” he told the media.
“Naturally, when you win matches in the way we have won today, you are necessarily happy. So we are very happy, we are delighted with that, but we have not been carried away by that because we still have a lot of work in front of us.
“The score can be flattering, but then we came for a victory and we knew that the players were able to do so.
“The players were very motivated to ensure that the mission that we have trouble making reality is maintained alive.
“The mind in the camp before the match was quite high. The atmosphere in the camp was quite high. You had to be with the girls to know that they were really determined to make sure they put this away.”
Madugu also rejected the claims that his team approached the match thinking about revenge. In the 2022 edition, the copper queens had refused Nigeria a bronze medal with a 1-0 victory.
The goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie conceded his own goal during the third place match at Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.
“For us, we have not looked at this prospect of a revenge mission,” He continued.
“On the contrary, it was a game that we had to win so that we can go to the next stage of the competition.
“Yes, it seemed to be a revenge because we lost against them in the last edition in the third match. And (now) we had one, which is quite pleasant.”
Although Nigeria has exceeded their group, they faced strong criticisms for not having scored more goals. Finding the net five times in the quarter-final was an important statement, and the coach explained what the team was right this time.
“As I kept saying in previous press conferences, you know, the strategy that the opposition adopts also determines what you do,” he added.
“In the previous matches, we played in the group phase, the opposition decided to simply park the bus and play a low block and it made a little difficult for us to be able to play the kind of football that people were waiting for.
“The girls did their best and they still created chances, but these conversions of these chances were a problem. And we have continued to emphasize that we are still working in progress.
“We always examine the areas of weakness, in particular the opportunities during the sets. We continued to work on them, then we finish in front of the goal. And (against Zamba), we see the results.”
The Nigeria will face the winner of the confrontation between Senegal and the title African champions of South Africa for a place in the final, scheduled for July 26 at the Olympic stadium in Rabat.
(Tagstotranslate) Football