Demehin, Echegini to miss decisive encounter against Egypt

Nigeria’s opening-day loss to Malawi at the ongoing African Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco was an eye-opener, which propelled the Super Falcons to toughen up in their last game against Zambia, the team’s top striker, Asisat Oshoala, has said.

The Nigerian girls defeated Zambia 1-0 on Saturday despite playing a better part of the game with 10 women after defender Oluwatosin Demehin was sent off.

Despite the numerous disadvantages, Super Falcons still dominated the game to the admiration of their fans.

Speaking after the game, Oshoala, who scored the lone goal, said that the players knew they had to make greater sacrifices following Demehin’s dismissal, with everyone stepping up to help the team secure all three points.

“I think when you’re playing, different things can happen. We got a red card, and we knew we had to sacrifice more.”

“We had to do more; we had to do double jobs in each position. We never thought about going down. We were thinking of trying to get more goals,” she said.

Also speaking on the game, goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, who was blamed by many fans for the Super Falcons’ loss to Malawi, called for continuous support, while pledging that the African champions will fight hard to retain the crown.

“I just want Nigerians to be calm. Ten-time champions, we are going to make you proud. All we need from you is just your prayers and support,” Nnadozie said.

Nigeria’s next game is against Egypt, and Nnadozie said that the Super Falcons will devote much energy to preparing and executing the game to get the right results.

“The next game won’t be easy; we will deploy the same approach. The group is still open; we don’t know what Zambia and Malawi would do. We need to defeat Egypt, but it won’t be an easy game,” she said.

The Super Falcons are currently third in Group C with three points, behind Malawi and Zambia. Justin Madugu’s side must beat Egypt in their final group match to boost their chances of securing a place in the knockout stage.

Meanwhile, defender Demehin and midfielder Jennifer Echegini will both miss the decisive group-stage encounter against Egypt due to disciplinary reasons.

Demehin was shown a straight red card in the 40th minute of the encounter with Zambia on Saturday when she brought down Zambia captain Barbra Banda, while Echegini received her second yellow card of the competition in the same game.