MATCH PREVIEW: All you need to know about the Super Falcons and USWNT Clash

The Super Falcons of Nigeria have arrived in Kansas City, Kansas, United State for their doubleheader friendly with the United States Women’s National Team.

They will play the first of their two-match tour at the Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City on Saturday, September 3 18:00 GMT+1.

Nigeria and the USWNT have qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand between July and August 2023.

Both teams will clash again at the Audi Field in Washington, D.C. three days after the first match in Kansas on Tuesday, September 6 23:00 GMT+1.

Head Coach of the Super Falcons, Randy Waldrum, has selected four players from Nigeria’s U-20 girls that reached the quarter-finals at the just-concluded FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.

The four U-20 players are defenders Oluwatosin Demehin and Rofiat Imuran, and midfielders Esther Onyenezide and Deborah Abiodun.

Home-based professionals Christy Ohiaeriaku, Akudo Ogbonna and Gift Monday were also included in the squad.

First-choice goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, defender Osinachi Ohale, midfielder Toni Payne, and forwards Rasheedat Ajibade and Uchenna Kanu will provide the spine for an interesting Nigeria selection.

The USWNT have won four out of the eight titles that have been contested, making them the most successful team in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Stars & Stripes won the inaugural competition in China in 1991, followed by victories on American soil in 1999, Canada in 2015, and France in 2013. The USWNT have also won eight CONCACAF championships and four gold Olympic women’s football medals.

The Super Falcons, on the other hand, have won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations nine times, played in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and also played at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic women’s football tournaments. They remain the most successful women’s team on the African continent.

The Children’s Mercy Park is home to Kansas City in the US National Women’s Soccer League and Sporting Kansas City in the Major League Soccer, while Audi Field is utilized by National Women’s Soccer League side Washington Spirit and Major League Soccer team, D. C. United.

The match in Kansas City will see Vlatko Andonovski, appointed Coach of USWNT at the end of 2019, return to his home area for the second time. It is the sixth time that the USWNT will be playing at the Children’s Mercy Park but it is their first time at the Audi Field, though they have played 10 times previously in Washington – all at the RFK Stadium.

Andonovski told NFF Media that he is excited to send out his girls against the Super Falcons.

“First, I’m just excited to play two matches against Nigeria. They have some very talented players who will present a lot of different problems for us to solve on both sides of the ball,” he said.

FULL SUPER FALCONS SQUAD LIST FOR FRIENDLIES WITH USA:

GOALKEEPERS: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC, France); Christy Ohiaeriaku (Edo Queens)

DEFENDERS: Nicole Payne (West Virginia University, USA); Glory Ogbonna (ALG Spor, Turkey); Osinachi Ohale (Deportivo Alaves, Spain); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash, USA); Akudo Ogbonna (Edo Queens); Oluwatosin Demehin (Rivers Angels)

MIDFIELDERS: Jennifer Echegini (Florida State University, USA); Christy Ucheibe (SL Benfica, Portugal); Toni Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain); Amanda Mbadi Uju (Atasehir Belediyespor, Turkey); Deborah Abiodun (Rivers Angels)

FORWARDS: Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Roof at Imuran (Rivers Angels); Uchenna Kanu (Tigres Femenil, Mexico); Vivian Ikechukwu (WFC Gintra, Lithuania); Ifeoma Onumonu (NY/NJ Gotham FC, USA); Gift Monday (Bayelsa Queens); Esther Onyenezide (FC Robo Queens)

According to the report coming from the camp of the World champions, USWNT, Trinity Rodman has pulled out of the team due to family reasons.

And the team’s technical crew has called up Savannah DeMelo to take her position on the team.

FULL USA SQUAD LIST FOR FRIENDLIES WITH NIGERIA:

GOALKEEPERS: Aubrey Kingsbury; Casey Murphy; Alyssa Naeher

DEFENDERS: Alana Cook; Emily Fox; Naomi Girma; Sofia Huerta; Kelley O’Hara; Becky Sauerbrunn

MIDFIELDERS: Sam Coffey; Lindsey Horan; Taylor Kornieck; Rose Lavelle; Kristie Mewis; Ashley Sanchez; Andi Sullivan

FORWARDS: Ashley Hatch; Alex Morgan; Mallory Pugh; Midge Purce; Megan Rapinoe; Savannah De Melo, Sophia Smith.

The USA and Nigeria are set to meet for the second time in two years, though this will be just the seventh matchup all-time between the nations and only the second such meeting in a friendly match. The first five matchups between the USA and Nigeria all came at world championship events, with four meetings at the Women’s World Cup (1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015) and one at the Olympics (2000).

Apart from a 7-1 win in the first ever meeting between the teams – which came in group play at the 1999 Women’s World Cup – and a 5-0 victory for the Americans in the 2003 World Cup group stage, the majority of the meetings between these two countries have been tightly contested. The USA defeated Nigeria, 3-1, at the 2000 Olympics and registered a pair of 1-0 group stage wins over the Super Falcons at both the 2007 and 2015 World Cups.

The most recent matchup between the two sides came on June 16, 2021, in Austin, Texas, as the teams met in the first-ever soccer match at Austin’s FC’s spectacular Q2 Stadium. Christen Press scored the first-ever goal in that venue and Lynn Williams added a score off a counterattack for the 2-0 win for the Americans. The USA out-shot Nigeria 15-7 in that match, though only six of the 23 players on this roster saw action in that 2021 match against the Super Falcons.

The USWNT has a perfect record against African opposition, defeating Nigeria six times in six meetings and South Africa twice in two games. The USWNT has kept clean sheets in each of its last six games against CAF foes, meaning Nigeria would have to do a whole lot to avoid the record not extending to 8 victories for the United States Women’s National Team.

Nigeria is coached by long-time American college coach Randy Waldrum, who is also currently the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Waldrum was named as Nigeria’s head coach in May of 2020 and previously served as head coach for the Houston Dash in the NWSL from 2014-2017 and for the Trinidad & Tobago Women’s National Team from 2014-2016.

Waldrum also led the University of Notre Dame to two NCAA titles during his 15-year tenure in South Bend, Indiana from 1999-2013. The Texas native also did a short stint as the U.S. Under-23 WNT head coach.

Along with the American influence on the coaching staff, several of the Super Falcons recent call-ups have played – or currently play – professionally or collegiately in the United States.

Midfielder Toni Payne, who grew up in Alabama, played collegiately at Duke and presented the USA at the Youth National Team levels. In fact, she was a part of the U.S. team that won the 2012 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship, scoring two goals with two assists in that tournament and then played in all three games at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, scoring against Gambia. Payne’s younger sister Nicole, who attends West Virginia, is also on the squad and also represented the USA at various age levels.

Ifeoma Onumonu hails from Southern California and played collegiately at the University of California, Berkeley. Onumonu previously played for U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski when they were both part of the Seattle Reign organization and currently plays alongside the USA’s Midge Purce and Kristie Mewis and NJ/NY Gotham FC.

Michelle Alozie is from Apple Valley, Calif. and played college soccer at Tennessee. She currently plays for the Houston Dash and has played in six NWSL games so far this season and scored her second goal on Aug. 27 against the Washington Spirit to equalizer in stoppage time.

The Super Falcons of Nigeria face an uphill task against the United States but they will be hoping to do Nigeria and Africa proud by defeating the most successful team in Women’s football history.