Izuchukwu OkosiNine-time African champions Super Falcons on Monday list 4-2 on penalties to England in their round of 16 game against the Three Lionesses of England at the Lang Stadium in Brisbane.
The game had ended on a scoreless note after extra time.
England were staring down the barrel of a World Cup exit after being second best to Nigeria and then losing Lauren James to a red card late in the 90 minutes.
But how did the Super Falcons fare in the keenly contested clash?
Prime Business Africa’s Izuchukwu Okosi presents the players’ ratings after emotions ran high at the sound of the final whistle.
Chiamaka Nnadozie: The goalkeeper was far more confident on the day than she was in the last group game against Republic of Ireland.
Dealt with crosses and direct shots better and learnt to stay on her line unlike against the British side. 7/10.
Michelle Alozie: The right back never let star player for England, Lauren James, have the freedom of the city in the game.
That culminated in the yellow card cum red card issued to the nippy Chelsea Women’s team forward after she stamped a foot on the Nigerian.
Alozie was also a good outlet going forward but she missed one of the spot kicks which was the only blot in her performance. 7.5/10.
Osinachi Ohale: Ohale’s experience shone through the entire duration of the match on Monday as she was a strong presence in front of the goalkeeper.
It is intriguing to know what her future in the national team is, as she is already in her 30s, but the golden oldie doesn’t seem like someone who is ready to retire just yet. Leadership. 8/10.
Tosin Demehin: Young central defender Demehin is undoubtedly a good defender but the nerves still let her down in parts.
The defender almost gifted Alex Russo the chance to put England ahead in the first half. The latter however fired wide to the relief of the Nigerian team. Had a better second half. 6/10.
Ashleigh Plumptre: The former Leicester City left back had her best game in the green and white colours of the Super Falcons.
It is interesting to note that most of the players on the English side were her childhood friends and teammates whilst she represented England at youth level.
The versatile defender hit the crossbar with a fierce drive and had the goalkeeper save soon afterwards.
Very assured and professional performance. 8/10.
Halimat Ayinde: The defensive midfielder took no prisoners and protected the defence efficiently.
Her duels with Lauren James was one of the interesting battles in the game. This forced the Chelsea star to drift to the wings at will where she did not find joy either. 7/10.
Christy Ucheibe: The midfielder was the knot that tied the defence and attack together.
Ucheibe’s heat map will make for an interesting view because she was energetic and virtually played wherever she was deployed on the pitch. 7.5/10.
Toni Payne: The workaholic Payne created multiple goal-scoring chances for her teammates, with the best of the bunch being the floated pass onto the head of Uchenna Kanu whose connecting header saw the ball canon off the woodwork.
Payne’s displays at the tournament deserved to reach the latter stages and not just the round of 16 stages. 7/10.
Uchenna Kanu: Kanu was a big threat to the English players from her wing position.
The nimble-footed forward saw a close header canon off the woodwork in the second half.
One of the leaders of the team as regards output on the pitch. 7/10.
Rasheedat Ajibade: Attacked with verve and was also useful in shoring up the defence.
Fortunate not to have conceded a penalty after a VAR check in the first half.
She made some tantalizing deliveries into the penalty area of the opponents and was one of the two scorers for Nigeria in the shootout. 8/10.
Ifeoma Onumonu: Criticisms over her performances could be extremely harsh but she was clearly not at her best on Monday and some of those critics were this time correct. 5/10.
Substitutes
Asisat Oshoala
The Barcelona star came on the second half and proved to be a big threat to the USA girls.
Oshoala never got the chance to cause havoc as her second half appearance seemed not to take the English unaware. 5.5/10.
Francisca Ordega: The Gboko, Benue state-born star came off the subs bench t play her part but her foot did not connect superbly with the ball. That was a chance gone. 5/10.
Jennifer Echegini: Came in for Ayinde and helped to keep things ticking over in the game. Echegini has good footwork and a knack of bringing teammates into play. 5.5/10.
Desire Oparanozie
Came off the subs bench late on in the game – her first appearance at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
She had just three touches before the penalty shootout. She took Nigeria’s first spot kick and lost it. 4/10.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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