Cruz Azul of Mexico striker Uchenna Kanu has issued an emphatic prediction that the Nigerian female national team, Super Falcons, will come back stronger and excel in their future outings, Sports247 reports.
Kanu, who was born in Aba and first played for Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, gave the heartwarming prophecy while reflecting on a disastrous outing the Falcons endured at this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The dark-skinned attacker, who was also in Nigeria’s squad to the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and got her senior debut on April 8th, 2019, in a 2-1 loss to Canada during an international friendly, admitted that the Falcons were not at their best during this year’s WAFCON.
She noted that, despite all pre-competition forecasts, the Falcons started out on the wrong foot in the group stage, as they lost their first match against debuting Malawi and later failed to reach the semi-finals.
The Falcons’ 1-0 loss to eventual champions Cameroon in the quarterfinals meant the Nigerian squad failed to make it to the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time since it began in 1991, while their 2-1 slump to South Africa in a play-off fixture ruled them out of a second chance of making it to Brazil 2027.
While taking a look at the multiple setbacks the Falcons faced at WAFCON 2026, Kanu, who was in Nigeria’s squad for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, confessed that she felt really bad at the turn of events in Morocco and admitted that the players need to work harder in their subsequent outings.
She also acknowledged that winning the continental championship has now become more difficult than it used to be and accepted that all the players must take responsibility for the setback.
Kanu concluded with an assurance that the setback won’t crush the team but reasoned that all the players have to make sacrifices and work harder in order to meet the expectations of Nigeria’s fans.
“We gave everything, but it wasn’t enough. This is a painful chapter, but it will not define us. We will reflect, regroup and come back stronger.” said the former star of Southeastern Fire, Pensacola, Sevilla, Linköpings, UANL an Racing Louisville.
