Paris Saint-Germain forward Rasheedat Ajibade has urged Nigeria to respond after a painful week in Morocco, admitting that the Super Falcons can no longer consider themselves unbeatable.
Ajibade was on the pitch for the entirety of Nigeria’s WAFCON campaign, although she found it difficult to make a decisive impact against Cameroon and South Africa. After Thursday’s playoff loss to Banyana Banyana, the former Atletico Madrid player described the setbacks as an important wake-up call.
“Honestly, the main thing I take from this is gratitude. We have to appreciate what we have,” Ajibade said.
She added: “We cannot become complacent because the level of competition has risen. We need to understand that we are not invincible. The answer is to prepare more thoroughly, improve, and expect greater standards from ourselves both as individuals and as a team.”
Nigerian football endured a disastrous week. The ten-time African champions were eliminated from the WAFCON on Sunday after Cameroon secured a 1-0 quarterfinal victory, ending Nigeria’s run of reaching the last four in each of the tournament’s previous 14 editions.
The defeat placed the Falcons in the inter-confederation playoffs, with a place at the World Cup at stake. South Africa then beat them 2-1 on Thursday, despite Christy Ucheibe scoring late after Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane had found the net for Banyana Banyana.
Nigeria will therefore miss the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time since entering the competition.
