World Cup: Falcons won't disappoint Nigerians again, says Onome Ebi

World Cup: Falcons won’t disappoint Nigerians again, says Onome Ebi

July 19

00:17 2023

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Onome Ebi, Super Falcons captain, has promised that the team will not disappoint Nigerians again at the forthcoming Women’s World Cup.

Ebi spoke in a chat with the CAF media team on Tuesday.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.

The Falcons are billed to commence their campaign in the competition against Canada on July 21 before facing Australia six days later. The team will play Ireland in their last group game on July 31.

Speaking on the team’s target heading into the tournament, Ebi said the Falcons want to put the “disappointments” of the 2022 African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) behind them and “do our best”.

Nigeria finished fourth in the 2022 AWCON as the Falcons left the competition without a podium finish for only the second time ever.

The 40-year-old defender said the team will not “disappoint again” and “are motivated to hoist Nigeria’s flag to the highest point”.

“Our ambition, definitely, is to do our best. We approach this World Cup with the mindset of performing to our utmost best and conquering. We had some disappointments at the last TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations where we did not put the best performance,” the Falcons captain said.

“We have the opportunity at the World Cup where we do not want to disappoint again. I have faith in my team, and I like our current state of mind. The team is united, and I believe we will be able to do great things at the World Cup. We are motivated, and we want to hoist Nigeria’s flag to the highest point.

“The ball is in our court as players, and we have to do everything to be on fire physically and mentally for this opportunity.”

The Falcons’ preparation for the World Cup has been marred by the war of words between Randy 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 being owed seven months’ salary.

Nigeria has qualified for the Women’s World Cup nine times. The team has progressed to the knockout stage twice — quarter-final in 1999 and second round in 2019.