THE Super Falcons are on the verge of advancing to the knockout rounds for the second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Following Thursday’s 3-2 victory over co-hosts Australia, the nine-time African champions put themselves in a great position to reach the round of 16.
Goals from Uchenna Kanu, Osinachi Ohale and Asisat Oshoala shot Nigeria to the top of Group B after two rounds of matches, and they will guarantee passage to the knockouts if they avoid defeat against Republic of Ireland in Brisbane tomorrow.
The Irish debutants have already been eliminated after narrowly losing their first two games to Australia and Canada, but they are clearly no pushovers.
They restricted Australia to just a 1-0 victory and scored first against Olympic champions Canada before going down 2-1.
However, the Falcons have recently built a satisfying habit of avoiding defeat and have not lost any of their last five matches, a much welcome run after they had lost six in a row.
The unbeaten streak began with the 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in the Revelation Cup Tournament in Mexico five months ago.
After defeating the Costa Ricans, Randy Waldrum’s side edged out Haiti 2-1 in a friendly in Antalya, Turkey in April, and a few days later, spanked World Cup co-hosts New Zealand 3-0 also in Antalya.
In the course of their final training camp in Gold Coast, just before the World Cup, the Falcons whipped Lions FC 8-1 in an unofficial friendly.
At the World Cup, the Falcons drew 0-0 with Canada in Melbourne and defeated Australia 3-2 in Brisbane.
If they keep up their recent invincible run and extend their unbeaten streak to six against Ireland, the Super Falcons will cruise into the knockout rounds of the Women’s World Cup for only the third time after 1999 and 2019.
