Echoes from the past as Nigeria faces African champion again

It’s crunch time as Super Falcons meet Banyana Banyana in Abuja…today

Two powerhouses in Africa’s women’s football, the Super Falcons of Nigeria and Banyana Banyana of South Africa will clash today in the first leg of the double-header qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games in what appears another chapter in their long-standing rivalry.

However, when the encounter eventually began, the South African players, who were alleged to have been involved in food poisoning, turned the Super Falcons to training materials, dictating the pace around the pitch.
 
If ball possession was all a team needed to seal victory, the South Africans would have picked the ticket even in the first half of the match.
Coach Mabo and Evumena had to dig deep in their armoury in the second half to find a way for the Falcons to get the lone goal that secured their passage to Athens 2004 Olympics.
 
After the encounter, Modise wept profusely in a chat with The Guardian. “Every time, Nigeria will beat us to the ticket and go out there and fumble at the world stage. We came with a game plan to stop them here in Abuja, but we have missed it again. They (Falcons) should be on the watchout for us in the nearest future.”
 
A visibly relieved Coach Mabo said after the match: “We nearly fell to the trick of the South Africans but God saved us today.”  Between 2004 and now, both teams have met on several occasions with Nigeria having a slight edge over the South Africa.
 
One of such encounters was the semifinal tie at the 2016 African Women Championships in Limbe, Cameroun, where Desire Oparanozie’s lone strike gave the Coach Florence Omagbemi-led Super Falcons the ticket to the final.

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