Captain of Nigeria Rasheedat Ajibade took a blow on Zambia after the dominant victory on Friday 5-0 Friday in the quarter-finals of the Nations African Cup of women.
The copper queens were frank in the accumulation, with Barbra Banda, African player of the reigning year, promising goals promising Super Falcons, while his teammates made just as daring predictions.
However, Justine Madugu’s team had other plans, putting five people spent at the Nora Hauptle team at the Larbi Zaouli stadium in Casablanca to reserve their place in the semi-finals.
In his post-match remarks, the former Atletico Madrid star did not retain after the categorical result, revealing that she and his teammates were fed by the lack of respect perceived in the accumulation of confrontation.
“To be honest, these are the kind of games we like to play, because before the match, we were really underestimated,” Ajibade told the media.
“There was so much media threshing on the Zambian side. These moments when they underestimated us were these moments that we tried to intensify.
“Their words (boastful) have also inspired us a lot. Football is played with your feet, not with your mouth. So, it’s about showing what we can do and the world has seen it. We just want to continue playing a game at a time.
“In addition, our match plan was essentially to focus on ourselves and work on the structure of the team. Concentrate on our match plan and simply do what we have to do to win the game.”
In addition to getting closer to their objective of a tenth African title, Ajibade thought about what victory meant for his team and how they found motivation despite a slow start in Morocco.
“This shows all the efforts that we put every day (bearing fruit),” she continued.
“Every day, we try to push us physically, mentally and emotionally. To be honest, there is a lot of things behind the scenes, but we do not allow that to stop because for us, that’s what we like to do.
“It is our work, it is not only doing it for ourselves, but doing it for young girls who aspire to become professional footballers one day.
“We know that it is a much greater responsibility than us and that we take it with all honor. We must be mentally concentrated and continue all the time.”
Nigeria will face South Africa or Senegal for a place in the final, aimed at a tenth record title. The former Robo FC star includes the high issues, even after having maintained a white sheet through four games so far.
Ajibade added: “Honestly, it’s not easy to play without conceding a goal from the start of this tournament. We started very slowly and we continued to grow over the game.
“We have to continue working hard, keep the focus high, keep the energy high in the team and make sure that we give every match every game.
“This is teamwork. When the tournament started, we were 100% on the group phase. Now, it’s about giving 120% as a team.
“Playing with four clean sheets in a prestigious tournament like this is honestly not easy. We have to congratulate all the technical staff. I have to congratulate the whole team, from our defense to the goalkeeper, to everyone of the team for a job well done.
“We want to continue making history for ourselves as players because we want to establish a standard for those who come behind us.”
(Tagstotranslate) Football