Nigeria Super Falcons will file out against the Lady Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire today with revenge on their minds in a potentially explosive duel for the ticket to Morocco.
This fixture, the last lap of the 2022 African Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Ivorians, is indeed a revenge mission for the Nigerian team after what happened the last time between the two teams.
The nine-time African champions are eyeing a 12th consecutive appearance at this year’s continental showpiece but must avoid another upset against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, who dumped them out of Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifier in 2019.
Ivory Coast, not pushovers in African football, made a mockery of the Niger Republic in their last qualification series with a 20-0 scoreline on aggregate but were pipped 2-0 by Falcons at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja.
The 10, 000 capacity Stade Robert Champroux in Marcory, a suburb in Abidjan while a home ground for the Ivorian ladies, is equally a fertile ground for the Super Falcons of Nigeria.
In 2019, Falcons lifted the WAFU Women’s Cup championship trophy at the Stade Robert Champroux after defeating Cote d’Ivoire 5-4 on penalties.
The AWCON in Morocco will also serve as the qualifiers for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
