Nigeria will tackle South Africa in a cracker of a match in Pretoria on Tuesday night with the mindset of sustaining a record of never having lost to South Africa in that country in senior women’s football.
The gap has become much closer since 19th March 1995, when the Super Falcons humiliated the Banyana 7-1 in front of their own fans in Johannesburg in a 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying match. Yet, the fact remains that the Banyana are still looking for a first win over the Falcons in any match played in South Africa.
In 24 previous encounters (with seven played in South Africa), Nigeria have won 15, with five ending in draws and South Africa winning on four occasions. One of the drawn games was the final match of the 11th Women Africa Cup of Nations, which Nigeria eventually won 4-3 after a penalty shootout in Accra.
South Africa’s four wins have been in Bata, Equatorial Guinea (1-0, 2012 Women AFCON); Cape Coast, Ghana (1-0, 2018 Women AFCON); Lagos, Nigeria (4-2, Aisha Buhari Cup) and; Rabat, Morocco (2-1, 2022 Women AFCON).
Of the seven previous encounters inside South Africa, Nigeria have won five, drawing two. The only times the Banyana have been able to hold the Falcons in South Africa were on 12th March 2004 (Athens Olympics qualifier which ended 2-2) and a friendly match on 3rd June 2012 that ended 1-1.
The Super Falcons’ delegation for Tuesday’s all-important match arrived in Pretoria on Monday morning, and have settled down in their hotel ahead of their official training at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s match will kick off at 7.30pm South African time (6.30pm Nigeria time).
Nigeria’s last two goals against the Banyana have been scored by captain Rasheedat Ajibade. She got the consolation goal in the 2-1 defeat by the arch rivals in Rabat on 4th July 2022, and also converted the penalty that accounted for the win over the visitors in Abuja on Friday evening.
PHOTO: The Super Falcons are ready to celebrate again!
FALCONS, BANYANA IN HISTORY
4 Mar 1995: Nigeria 4 South Africa 1 (WCq)
19 Mar 1995: South Africa 1 Nigeria 7 (WCq)
25 Nov 2000: South Africa 0 Nigeria 2 (WAfcon)
18 Dec 2002: Nigeria 5 South Africa 0 (WAfcon)
30 Mar 2003: South Africa 0 Nigeria 3 (Friendly)
11 Oct 2003: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (AfGames)
12 Mar 2004: South Africa 2 Nigeria 2 (Oq)
28 Mar 2004: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (Oq)
9 July 2007: South Africa 2 Nigeria 2 (AfGames)
18 July 2007: South Africa 0 Nigeria 4 (AfGames)
28 July 2008: Nigeria 5 South Africa 0 (Oq)
12 Aug 2008: South Africa 0 Nigeria 1 (Oq)
22 Nov 2008: South Africa 0 Nigeria 1 (WAfcon)
4 Nov 2010: South Africa I Nigeria 2 (WAfcon)
3 June 2012: South Africa 1 Nigeria 1 (Friendly)
23 June 2012: Nigeria 0 South Africa 0 (Friendly)
7 Nov 2012: South Africa 1 Nigeria 0 (WAfcon)
22 Oct 2014: South Africa 1 Nigeria 2 (WAfcon)
29 Nov 2016: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (WAfcon)
18 Nov 2018: South Africa 1 Nigeria 0 (WAfcon)
1 Dec 2018: Nigeria 0 South Africa 0 (WAfcon) – Nigeria triumphed 4-3 penalties
21 Sept 2021: Nigeria 2 South Africa 4 (Aisha Buhari Cup)
4 July 2022: South Africa 2 Nigeria 1 (WAfcon)
5 April 2024: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (Oq)
UEFA Tourney: Future Eagles fly to Spain on Tuesday
Nigeria’s U15 boys, nicknamed Future Eagles, will fly into Spain on Tuesday afternoon for a UEFA U16 Development Tournament to which the African giants have been invited.
The special invitation has come as a result of Nigeria’s pedigree in youth football, in which she has won five world titles at U17 boys’ level and reached the FIFA World Cup final on two occasions at U20 level.
As part of its preparation for the tournament, the Future Eagles trained for a week at the Remo Stars’ Sports Institute in Ikenne, during which it played two matches against the Remo Stars’ U16 boys (Beyond Limits FC), winning one and losing the other.
Only last month, the Future Eagles, coached by Patrick Bassey, also won one and lost one against their Moroccan counterparts on a two-match tour of that North African country. Their first game ended in a 2-3 defeat, but they buckled up to win the second game 5-3 in the city of Kenitra.
The UEFA U16 Tournament, which brings warm memories of the UEFA-CAF U17 Meridian Tournament that started in 1997 but was discontinued a decade after, will take place at the Pinatar Arena Football Centre in San Pedro del Pinatar.
It can be recalled that the UEFA-CAF Meridian Tournament was part of a cooperation agreement between UEFA and CAF, and Nigeria won the inaugural tournament in 1997. The Eaglets defeated the Spain U17 team 3-2 in the final in Lisbon, Portugal.
Spain won the next three tournaments hosted by South Africa (1999), Italy (2001) and Egypt (2003) before France broke their run by winning the 2005 edition hosted by Turkey. The tournament was abolished in 2007.
At this new tournament, the Future Eagles will play against Belgium on Friday, 12th April (8pm), face Italy on Sunday, 14th April (8pm) and square up to England on Wednesday, 17th April (1pm). Other games will see England against Italy on Friday, 12th April 5pm), England against Belgium on Sunday, 14th April (5pm) and Italy against Belgium on Wednesday, 17th April (11am).
The Future Eagles’ delegation to Spain, inclusive of 20 players, will be led by Zannah Mohammed Malah, a member of the NFF Technical and Development Committee.
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