TheCable

Super Falcons coach, Edwin Okon, is not guaranteeing his foreign-based players, including Liverpool Ladies star Asisat Oshoala, first-team assurances in his starting line-up.   

The African champions, who are in camp preparing for the second leg of their All-Africa Games qualifier with Mali, have been boosted by the arrival of Oshoala and Desire Oparanozie.

But Okon said the duo won’t stroll into his team just like that.

“I am not building this team around any individual player, and certainly not the overseas-based players,” he said.

“We will only field the players we feel are ready and if the overseas-based players are not ready, then they won’t play.”

Falcons played a 1-1 draw with Mali in Bamako during the first leg and now need a win, by any margin, or at worst a goalless draw to book a ticket to Congo-Brazzaville, venue of the AAG.

Okon has seen an improvement in his players and confident they can overcome the Malians.

“The girls have shown big improvements since our last match in Mali, and I think they’re in a better place now than they were before that game,” he said.

“We have to keep training hard to boost our fitness level and preparedness for the game and I can tell you that we will get there.”

The game will be played at the Abuja National Stadium on Friday, April 10.