Super Falcons Defeat Cote d’Ivoire’s Lady Elephants, Qualify For AWCON

Nigeria’s Super Falcons on Wednesday evening booked their place in the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco after a 1-0 win over hosts Cote d’Ivoire ensured they qualified 3-0 on aggregate.

Esther Okoronkwo grabbed Nigeria’s goal in the 87th minute albeit the Falcons were denied a goal in the first half for an offside.

Nigeria’s goalkeeper Chidozie Nnadozie was impressive in the game at the Robert Champroux stadium in Abidjan and the highlights of her performance was when she saved a 33rd minute penalty.

The African queens had beaten Cote d’Ivoire 2-0 in the first leg at the Moshood Abiola stadium in Abuja on Friday through Ifeoma Onumonu’s brace.

The return leg in Abidjan Wednesday evening was played behind closed doors and the Ivorian police had to shoot tear gas to disperse the angry fans who tried to catch a glimpse of the Lady Elephants in action against nine-time African champions Super Falcons.

The semifinalists at the AWCON will represent Africa at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.