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Despite coming in as a massive underdog, the Super Falcons of Nigeria can pull off the upset against the European champions if they give heed to these tenets
On Monday, Nigeria will take on reigning European champions England in the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.
The Super Falcons have an English mountain to climb
With 36 places separating the two sides and the Lionesses in rude health following their thumping of China in their final group match, the challenge is daunting. There is no point in mincing words on that front.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however; there is good news and… not-so-good news.
The good news is that the Super Falcons have already played two sides ranked inside the world’s top 10 and emerged unscathed. Randy Waldrum’s side have also kept two clean sheets as previously mentioned, and actually have a positive head-to-head record against the Lionesses.
The not-so-good news is that, unlike Canada and Australia, who came into the tournament in poor scoring form and were missing their best striker respectively (heck, even Ireland were far from incisive: their own goal in the tournament came direct from a corner), England actually have the means to punish even the minutest of lapses.
It is also difficult to tell quite how Sarina Wiegman’s side will line up. Having previously displayed vulnerability to transitional attacks, especially in the victory over Denmark, the Dutch manager altered her side’s shape against China, going to a 3-4-1-2 and beefing up the middle, partly as a response to the absence of the influential Keira Walsh. Considering Nigeria’s theoretical threat of pace in behind, it seems fair to assume she will stick to that on Monday; either way, the counter-attack is the clearest route to success against this England team.
It is a shame then that, to this point, Nigeria have yet to display any great proficiency on the break, despite having the tools to threaten in that exact scenario. It is one thing to sit deep against opponents that lack the chops to hurt you, as you can simply make the game a non-event and hope for kind bounces (a deflected shot falling to your forward inside the box, or an opposing defender heading the ball into your path with the net gaping) or broken sequences (the second phase of a corner kick).
However, when faced with a team like England who know where the goal is, without a proper plan to counterpunch, as well as the timing and accuracy to execute, you are a sitting duck, and the inevitable can feel like mercy when it does arrive.
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If the Super Falcons are to pull off the improbable, here are a few tactical pointers that hold the key to victory in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup clash with England.
5 things the Super Falcons must do to beat England
Constant bead on Lauren James
While Georgia Stanway is able to advance, in this 3-4-1-2 England are basically playing two midfielders behind the ball, sacrificing control in possession for defensive solidity. James is the one player consistently between the lines, and since she will more often than not skew left with her movement, the job of keeping tabs on her will likely fall to Christy Ucheibe. The Benfica midfielder can man-mark James, safe in the knowledge that Halimatu Ayinde is minding the shop in front of the defence.
Use of outlets
Against a back three, it is important to run the channel, so it would be a good idea to have Asisat Oshoala peel off to the left and test Jess Carter for speed. However, she cannot be the only one; Uchenna Kanu should be up there on the opposing flank to exploit the space behind Rachel Daly, make blindside runs and offer incision. Which leads to the next point…
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Ajibade left from the off
Not only is this important for the team’s ball retention in central areas, but it is important that one, not both, of Nigeria’s wingers track a wing-back. Rasheedat Ajibade going with Lucy Bronze in order to allow Kanu to remain in a more advanced position on the right is a fair compromise, with Michelle Alozie pushing up to engage Daly. That leaves the Super Falcons with 3v2 at the back, handy as Lauren Hemp, usually a winger, started right of centre against China and is the one of the front two who will more readily threaten in behind. Ashleigh Plumptre can sit narrower to engage her, or even jump forward to meet Stanway with Ayinde covering the gap and Blessing Demehin being the spare man.
Bring the Payne
Her ball-carrying and ability to ride contact means she will need to have a stormer if Nigeria are to eke out a result here. Unfortunately for her, more than half that job will involve running off the ball in search of pockets in which she can receive the ball with time to get her head up. No mean feat up against a double pivot, but if she can work on the outsides of Stanway and Katie Zelem, there could be a chink to exploit.
Dead balls
Self-explanatory, this one. They might as well be death balls if the Super Falcons cannot defend them properly. Especially corner kicks, on which Chiamaka Nnadozie has been proactive but not overly convincing.
- This article is an excerpt from an article that first appeared on Chaos Digest
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