Nigeria Super Falcons’ head coach Randy Waldrum has blamed his side’s poor finishing as the reason why they failed to win the bronze medal at the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The Super Falcons suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Copper Queens of Zambia in the loser's final on Friday night. Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie’s own goal in the 28th minute decided the contest.
Nigeria, who came in search of a tenth crown, saw them finish fourth at the 2022 edition of the competition, making it only the second time ever they have missed a podium finish in the competition after suffering the same fate in 2012.
At the post-match conference held after the disappointing game at the Stade Mohammed V Stadium in Rabat, Waldrum stressed that the Super Falcons would learn from the result against the Zambians as they go forward.
Waldrum said: “We were in a position to be in the final, but things changed due to the red cards and today we are having another conversation entirely. We have to learn a lot from this situation and be more clinical in front of the goal.”
This is the first time since Kadiri Ikhana in 2012 that the Falcons will be finishing outside the top three. Waldrum has now join that list of Nigerian women's national team coach to have lost the third-place match at a WAFCON tournament.
It was a poor outing from the Super Falcons at the WAFCON in Morocco. They ended up losing three (3) and winning three (3) of the six (6) matches they played at the tournament.
The record nine-time African champions lost their opening match of the 2022 tournament by a lone goal at the hands of the Banyana Banyana of South Africa. a
The Super Falcons then lost the semi-finals after a penalty shootout to host nation Morocco, in an enthralling match that saw the Nigerian national team play with only 9 players from the second half.
However, the Waldrum-led side secured qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand in July 2023.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago