“Ten-man” Super Falcons were
pipped 1-0 by the host nation, France, at the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup at
the Roazhon Park, Rennes.
Falcons conceded a penalty in the
79th minute which Wendie Renard scored following a re-take.
Before the penalty, Ngozi Ebere
was shown a red card which depleted the nine-time African champions from eleven
to ten.
The Super Falcons were able to
keep their defensive discipline and heads after conceding via penalty, but that
was not enough.
Les Bleus enjoyed most of the
possession in the first half but never lead to anything.
Super Falcons were largely played
in their half few instances where France had found themselves with clear-cut
chances.
Young fullback Chidinma Okeke
continued with her impressive performance in her first Fifa Women’s World Cup,
as did Halimatu Ayinde in her screening role in the midfield.
Nigeria’s defense was compact,
disciplined, and aggressive throughout the first forty-five minutes just like
the team’s handler, Thomas Dennerby, said before the match.
“We always try to play aggressive
defending. Aggressive for me is to use your body, run fast to press, to go to
your position as fast as you can,” Dennerby said.
France wave of attack continued
in the second half of play which saw Ebere concede a penalty and handed the
marching order with a second yellow card for the poor challenge.
Renard hit the lower bar but
Nnadozie was penalized for going off her line in the 76th minute before she
kicked the ball from the spot.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR)
called for a re-take of the penalty and which Renard converted.
Nigeria will have to wait to know
their faith if they will qualify as one of the best four losers for the knock
out round.
Nigeria (if they qualify), they
will face either Germany who are top group B already or Italy who are top of
Group C
France and Nigeria met at the
2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Marie-Laure Delie’s goal emerged as the
match-winner.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com