Asisat Oshoala has expressed confidence that the Super Falcons can win a medal in the football event of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Falcons will be making a return to the Olympics for the first time since Beijing 2008.
Randy Waldrum’s side have been handed one of the toughest draws at Paris 2024, where they will take on Brazil, Japan and Spain in Group C.
All of the Falcons’ opponents are in the top 10 of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking, with the nine-time African champions currently placed 36th.
“This will be a special event,” Oshoala told FIFA. “I’ve never been to the Olympics before, but I’ve heard a lot about it. I’m looking forward to it so much – if I make the team.
“At the World Cup last year, people said the same thing,” said Oshoala. “They said we were in the Group of Death [with Australia, Canada and the Republic of Ireland] and could not qualify. But we did.
“I have a lot of confidence in this team. We have many young players and we can make things difficult for our opponents. We don’t just think about getting out of the group, I think we can actually walk away with a medal.”
The 29-year-old admitted it was a tough decision to leave Barcelona– where she won 14 trophies and was part of arguably the finest club team on the planet.
“I was very comfortable at Barcelona, but I wanted to experience being at the start of something new,” said Oshoala, who scored 117 goals in 162 appearances for the Spanish club.
“As soon as I heard about the project at Bay FC, I was very excited. I love what I do, and I make decisions based on what makes me happy. It’s been pretty amazing here so far.”
Oshoala have represented Nigeria at three FIFA women’s World Cups in 2015, 2019 and 2023.
She is the reigning African Women’s Player of the Year.
