Izilien commends NFF for Super Falcons’ pre-Morocco 2022 Canada tour

Former Super Falcons Coach, Godwin Izilien, has said that the women national football team need the international friendly matches against Canada to boost their confidence ahead of other engagements, including the forthcoming African Women Cup of Nations billed for Morocco.

The Super Falcons are on a tour of the North American country and will play their first game on April 8.

Izilien, who commended the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for arranging the tour, urged football fans to be patient with the women national team no matter the outcome of the matches against Canada. He added that the Grade A games would put the girls in top shape to contend with other big teams in world.

He also urged the NFF to continue organising quality friendlies for the Falcons, saying that such games would put the reigning African champions on the right form for Morocco 2022 African Women Nations Cup.

“With this level of grade A friendlies, I believe the team will be more tactically organised and confident to contend with bigger teams in the world,” he said.

Nigeria will clash with the reigning Olympic champions in two friendly matches that will hold over three days in the cities of Vancouver and Victoria City. Both matches will hold on Friday, April 8 and Monday, April 11 respectively.
 
Two players – defenders Onome Ebi and Glory Ogbonna – were among the contingent that flew out of Nigeria aboard a Lufthansa Airline plane on Tuesday night, and connected a flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver yesterday. The other players are to fly direct to Vancouver from their bases in Europe and the American continent.
 
Canada’s women national team are the reigning champions of Olympic women’s football, having won the gold medal at the Olympic Women’s Football Tournament in Tokyo in August 2021, after beating Sweden on penalties following a 1-1 draw after regulation and extra time.
 
The Super Falcons have won the African title nine times and recently qualified for the Women AFCON finals holding in Morocco this summer, after a 3-0 aggregate win over Cote d’Ivoire in February. Newcomers Ifeoma Onumonu (in Abuja) and Esther Okoronkwo (in Abidjan) accounted for the goals that avenged the Falcons’ elimination from the Tokyo Olympics race by the Ivoirians.

The NFF said it organised this two-match tour against the Olympic champions as part of the Super Falcons’ preparations for the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.