Florence Omagbemi: How Falcons can qualify from World Cup group

Florence Omagbemi, the former Super Falcons midfielder and coach, says Nigeria can qualify from their tough group at the forthcoming Women’s World Cup.

The Falcons are drawn in group B of the competition billed to kick off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

The Nigerians will play Canada, the Olympic champions, in their opening game on July 21.

The Randy Waldrum-led team will then face Australia, one of the host nations backed by Sam Kerr’s formidable ruthlessness, and the Republic of Ireland in subsequent group-stage matches.

In a chat with TheCable on Wednesday, Omagbemi said the Falcons will progress from the group despite the apparent difficulties.

The former Super Falcons captain described Australia as the “big challenge” in the group, adding that the team is playing at a premium level at the moment.

She said the quality of the Canadian team is not that far off the Falcons. Nigeria had lost one match and drew another in a double-header friendly against Canada in 2022.

Omagbemi said she believes Nigeria could get a draw against Canada, put up a good fight against Australia, and get a win against the Republic of Ireland to book a knockout ticket.

“I believe the Super Falcons can qualify from the group. Absolutely. It depends on the way they approach these games. If Nigeria can get a draw against Canada, put up a good fight against Australia and get a win against the Republic of Ireland, we should come out of that group,” she said.

“The game against Canada can go either way. That is my belief. The Nigerian side is not new to the Canadian team. Most of the games played against Canada have been very close. By now, the team should have an understanding of how the Canadians play. The level of the Falcons and the Canadians are close. If players ignore the distractions of all the off-the-field incidents, they have a huge chance.

“Australia is the team that I think is going to be a big challenge to us in that group. We played against them in Canada in 2015 and lost 2-0. The interesting thing is that the current Australian team is far better than the one that defeated Nigeria in that competition. The Australians are playing at an unstoppable level right now. They beat England in a friendly recently.

“Ireland are not pushovers in that group, even though this is their first World Cup. But I am confident that Nigeria will get a win in that game.”

The Falcons’ preparation for the World Cup has been marred by the war of words between Waldrum, the team’s head coach, and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).

The coach had accused NFF of failing to support the team’s preparedness for the competition.

He also revealed he is owed seven months’ salary, adding that some players’ allowances are delayed.

Speaking on the saga, Omagbemi said the players must set aside “the distractions of all the off-the-field incidents” and face the task of qualifying the group.

“If players ignore the distractions of all the off-the-field incidents and have the right mindset, they have a huge chance,” she told TheCable.

Omagbemi won the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) four times as a player and coach with the Falcons.

She captained Nigeria to the Women’s World Cup quarter-final in 1999 – the country’s best finish to date.