Super Falcons coach Justine Madugu has set his sights on winning a record 10th title at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco next month.
Madugu will lead the team to his first major competition as a coach, and he is targeting the trophy.
He led the team to a 2-0 victory over Cameroon in an international friendly at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta on Tuesday in preparation for the Nations Cup in July.
Madugu was impressed with the players’ performance against Cameroon, and he is demanding more ahead of the next friendly match against Portugal on June 23rd.
He said, “I want to appreciate the players for their performance against Cameroon.
“For us, it is still a work in progress; we are still trying to put our preparations together, but we must commend the girls for the gallant effort they put in as far as the match is concerned.
“We all know games between Nigeria and Cameroon; on paper, they look friendly, but we all know there is always the prestige at stake and everybody tries as much as possible not to disappoint your fellow countrymen.”
He is also targeting more friendly matches for the team to enable them perfect strategies ahead of the 2024 WAFCON.
Madugu said: “I must confess we would have appreciated the opportunity of playing more games so we can test our philosophies and the strategies we intend to adopt in the Nations Cup,” he added.
“It could also have given us the opportunity to give a lot of other players the chance to show what they can also do, which we can use to determine who we will take to the Nations Cup.
“We have to make do with what we have and try as much as possible to maximise these opportunities and ensure we do our best and get the girls very prepared before the WAFCON.
“This is where we are. We cannot begin to look back and make excuses; we must keep working and ensure that we put the team together that will make Nigerians very happy.
Madugu is aware of the expectations of Nigerians ahead of the competition, and he has urged his players to work hard to win the trophy.
He concluded, “We’re mindful of the expectation of Nigerians. The Super Falcons have been one of the most successful, if not the most successful teams as far as Nigeria is concerned at the national team level.
“There are high expectations each time we go out to play, considering the calibre of players we have and the quality of teams they represent. We must do our best to ensure that those standards are not lowered. We must ensure the standard is sustained, and then we try to improve on what the team has achieved so far.
“We have an objective and we will try as much as possible to do what will make Nigerians happy, which is winning the trophy.”
The Super Falcons will be hoping to win their first WAFCON title since 2018 when they battle it out with Tunisia, Botswana, and Algeria in the group stage of the competition.
