The Super Falcons won their first game after seven straight loses, defeating Costa Rica 1-0 as the team continues its preparation for the FIFA Women’s World Cup at the invitational tournament – Revelation Cup.
Alarm bells were going off days before when the Super Falcons lost to Colombia, stretching their losing streak under coach Randy Waldrum to 7 games.
Reacting to the team’s performance former Nigerian midfielder, Duke Udi said the results should be no cause for alarm.
“We are preparing for a tournament and what we are doing now is preparation and strategizing, building up to the World Cup,” Udi told FL.
“So I always take preparation games as games to build up. I don’t look at the results from preparatory games because they are not major tournaments.
“Sometimes this friendly games are not result oriented, it’s about making sure that the combinations are okay, then when we get to the World Cup we will rectify those things that we see.”
While many have pointed to the absence of Asisat Oshoala as the reason for Nigeria’s poor form in front of goal, the former Sunshine Stars coach, Udi, insists the collective strength of the team is more important.
“Football is a team sport is not an individual sport, if Oshoala is there or otherwise, Nigeria is going to play.
“We just need to build a team, once our team is strong and we are together as a unit, without any player the team will still do well.
So, Oshoala’s case is not an exceptional case; with or without her the team will play, football is a team game, we just have to build our team.”
