Nigeria clobbered Barbra Banda‘s Zambia 5-0, as the Super Falcons cantered to a record-extending 13th semifinals appearance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Defender Osinachi Ohale — who scored in a 6-0 win over the Copper Queens in a group game in 2014 — opened the scoring within two minutes.
Esther Okoronkwo, lively as ever, was in a great position in the box to take captain Rasheedat Ajibade‘s delivery on her chest and finish in one flowing move just past the half-hour mark. Chinwendu Ihezuo netted with a hustling effort, Blessing Demehin posted another header, and Folashade Ijamilusi rounded out the scoring as Nigeria delivered an emphatic masterclass in attacking football.
Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie didn’t have to make a save, as the Super Falcons ensured the game was nowhere near being close on their way to another semifinal, in which they will meet the winner of the quarterfinal between South Africa and Senegal.
Fuelled by disrespect
It all started with motivation.
No one doubts the Super Falcons, in theory, are a much better all-round team than Zambia. Or any other team in Africa, for that matter. They may sometimes struggle to show it, due to the internal chaos that is always simmering below the surface, but they remain the most talented squad on the continent.
Ahead of this game, however, all the talk was about the deadly duo of Banda and Racheal Kundananji, and their ability to wreck the Nigerian defence. Zambia coach Nora Hauptle’s talk of “going hunting” against Nigeria also left the nine-time champions bristling, Super Falcons coach Justin Madugu said.
“The girls follow social media; they see reports, they hear comments that are made by the opposition,” he said. “They want to earn more respect for themselves because they believe, so far in the competition, they have not been given the kind of respect that they know they deserve.
“Over the last two or three days, there was a lot of determination in the girls to make sure they use this match to earn some respect for themselves. It was a motivation for them. You can see the way they played today. Everybody gave their all, gave their best to get the win today. We didn’t play to defend, we went out to play. The girls deserve credit for it.”
Ajibade said the players lived for such games.
“Before the game, we were really underrated to be honest and there was so much hype and so much noise on the Zambian side,” she said. “We heard all of that and, to be honest, those are the words that also inspire us a lot because we like it when people try to show themselves.
“It is in these moments when they underrate us that we try to step up and show who we are as a team. Our game plan basically was to focus on ourselves and do what we need to do to win the game.”
Nigeria’s show greater tactics and strength in depth
But motivation alone is not enough. The players had to prove their quality, and Madugu showed his team’s tactical superiority and strength in depth — using both to great effect.
Leading Nigeria for the 10th game since taking over, in an interim capacity from Randy Waldrum, Madugu has named an unchanged lineup only once — and that was during the group stage of this tournament.
And the coach made some bold personnel choices for Zambia: Regular starters such as star forward Asisat Oshoala, midfielder Deborah Abiodun and wide forward Rinsola Babajide were dropped to the bench; in came the likes of Okoronkwo, Jennifer Echegini, Ihezuo and Ijamilusi.
Hauptle insisted the changes were no surprise, even though her players were knocked out of kilter early when Okoronkwo’s perfect free kick was guided home by Ohale
“Of course we observed our opponents during the group stage,” the Zambia coach said. “We know that they can exchange a lot of players and not lose a lot of quality so we have not been surprised at all.”
Nigeria, meanwhile, nullified the threats posed by Banda and Kundananji by stifling their supply of direct balls from deep, and contesting the few that did find their way to them with tight and unyielding marking
“Today we need to accept that in all areas they were better than us,” Hauptle said. “Winning the duels in offense, winning the duels in defense, having control in the air, especially in the offense. They were more physical than us, better than us; fantastic performance from their side.”
Should Zambia have deployed a low block?
Nigeria’s performances against Botswana and Algeria formed the basis for a lot of the doubt around the Super Falcons’ ability to get past Zambia.
What was not said so much was why those teams had what seemed to be such relative successes.
“In previous games, the opposition decided to park the bus and play a low block,” Madugu said.
“That made it a bit difficult for us to play the kind of football that people expected. The girls did the best they could; they still created chances, but conversion of those chances was a problem, and we kept emphasizing that it is a still a work in progress, that we are still looking at our areas of weakness, particularly opportunities at set-pieces. We kept working on them, and then finishing in front of goal. Today, we are seeing the result; the girls have done well. We continue and hope that they keep it up.”
Zambia did not take heed.
With their speed in transition — undoubtedly the best in the tournament — and the finishing ability of Banda and Kundananji, the Copper Queens were the team perhaps best suited to play and exploit the advantages of a low block against Nigeria.
Instead, they chose to believe their own hype and go toe-to-toe with the Super Falcons.
“We said now we go all in because it is a quarterfinal so we release the defenders,” Hauptle said. “And we mirror their system, and say now we go one-on-one and try to press through and take the full risk.”
Nigeria defender Ashleigh Plumptre said that decision opened up spaces for the Super Falcons to attack.
“The teams that we played before this game, [Algeria] respected us by playing in a low block,” Plumptre said. “That made it a lot harder to get the goals. Zambia were a bit more offensive so that allowed us to get the spaces in behind, and be a little bit more creative.”
Perhaps Zambia should have borrowed a page from the low-block copybook.
Ed Dove reacts to Zambia’s 5-0 defeat to Nigeria and a Women’s AFCON quarterfinal exit for NWSL stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji.
Esther Okoronkwo emerging as a Falcons star
Three years ago, when she was working at a restaurant in Florida, Okoronkwo got a surprise call from Waldrum to play for Nigeria.
Today, she has emerged as the Super Falcons’ standout player at this tournament alongside the crack, unyielding defending of Plumptre.
Okoronkwo’s four assists are more than any other player in the tournament, and she has a goal to boot. Beyond that, her quick feet, trickery, and ability to work in tight spaces, have been a major part of Nigeria’s success. And there is her peerless delivery from set pieces.
“Esther is a very key player in the team, a very fine striker,” Madugu said. “If you look at the quality in her, you know she does a lot. She works for the team, she can play upfront alone, hold the ball and allow others to also come to give her good support.
“She has done well for the Super Falcons, even in previous games we have played; she has been consistent in goal contributions, irrespective of the time she comes in. She either creates or she scores.
“But she is still developing. She has not got to where we know she can get to. She is a greatly player, she has a lot of potential.”