Nigerian female ex-international striker, Mercy Akide-Udoh has warned the current set of players in the Super Falcons to avoid a second straight elimination in the semi-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Sports247 reports.
With the Falcons set to face cup holders, South Africa, this Tuesday at WAFCON 2024 in Morocco, Akide, who won the trophy in 1998, 2000 and 2002, pointed out that Coach Justin Madugu’s side are playing almost as they did at the 2022 edition in the same country.
Read Also: Oshoala Rates Deborah Abiodun, Shukurat Oladipo As Super Falcons’ Future Stars
The 49-year-old former striker, who dazzled in the USA before hanging her boots in 2006 and later took up a coaching job at Virginia Rush FC, pointed out that Madugu’s side need better teamwork in order to defeat the South Africans.
Akide declared, “They should just go and believe in each other. Our coach has to have a session for the strikers and design graphics for the midfielders.
“They have to know one another well. They are all professionals, but they have to play together as a team.”
The heroine of Nigeria’s surge to the quarter-finals of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup in USA added specifics of the key areas that Madugu and his players must work on ahead of Tuesday’s cracker at Stade Larbi Zaouli in Casablanca.
Mercy Akide noted, “They have to develop better teamwork, and they need commitment. The coach has to give them tactics of the game, and they must no longer miss a lot of chances.
“The game is all about winning. I’m not trying to put anybody down, but they need to do better. We have the calibre of players to win this tournament.”
While acknowledging that the team stepped up in their 5-0 thrashing of Zambia on Friday, Akide-Udoh warned that it would be disastrous for them to get carried away on Tuesday, as she recalled how they lost unexpectedly at this same stage against the host country in 2022.
“This is almost the same team we had when we went to Morocco three years ago. We had all the talent, but they were not playing as a team. That same minus is again lingering around.
“They all have the talent, but they are not working together. So, let it not be the same in this tournament,” Akide concluded in supplication.
