Women’s World Cup: Super Falcons bank on unbeaten streak mentality against Australia

Nigeria’s Super Falcons will bank on their unbeaten streak mentality when the Australia in a group B clash at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Thursday.

The Super Falcons head into the fixture boosting of a 5-game unbeaten streak that includes a goalless draw vs Canada in their opening group game of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The game will take place at the Lang Park in Brisbane/Meaanjin on Thursday July 27.

With the maximum three points from their opening match against Republic of Ireland in Sydney on 20 July, the Matildas know they have a fight on their hands against nine-time African champions, Super Falcons, who refused to bow to Olympic champions Canada in Melbourne on July 21.

The Nigerian ladies know only a win will be good enough to stand them in good stead for a place in the Round of 16, as only the two top-placed teams in each of the eight groups will make progress in a tournament that has welcomed 32 teams for the first time ever.

“Of course, it is the World Cup. You have to accept the fact that you are going to play the best teams in the world and you have to be alive to that responsibility and face it with your full chest,” team captain Onome Ebi told thenff.com after the tournament draw that was conducted in Auckland, New Zealand in October 2022.

On Tuesday, Ebi reiterated the position of the Super Falcons: “We will go in there and play to win. There are no two ways about it. Only three points will be good enough for us.”

Ebi says their five-match unbeaten streak is one of the factors that will keep the girls going strong on a turf much more familiar to their opponents and in front of dozens of thousands of a partisan crowd at the Lang Park.

Before the draw with Canada, the Super Falcons had pipped Costa Rica 1-0, edged Haiti 2-1, trounced New Zealand 3-0 and slayed Lions Women’s Football Club 8-1 before the World Cup.

Nigeria is one of only seven countries (the others being USA, Brazil, Germany, Sweden, Japan and Norway) to have featured in every single edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals since the competition was launched in 1991. Australia missed the inaugural edition in China, but have been at every other final tournament since then.

Nigeria’s final group game is vs debutants Republic of Ireland on July 31.