Despite suffering narrow defeats in their opening two matches of the Women’s Football Tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Super Falcons remain optimistic about their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals.
A victory over Japan at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Wednesday would secure their place in the next round, even if only as one of the two best third-placed teams.
The Super Falcons boast a historical advantage over Japan, having defeated them 1-0 in the 2004 Athens Olympics in Greece when Vera Okolo’s strike was the only goal of the match and earned Nigeria all three points. The win handed the Super Falcons their only quarter-final berth at the tournament so far and is also the only victory the nine-time African champions have celebrated at the Olympics since they started participating 24 years ago.
“We believe we can defeat Japan again,” said captain Rasheedat Ajibade. “We’ve done it before, and we have the ability to do it again.”
The Super Falcons had several opportunities to score against Spain in their last match but were unable to capitalize.
Mercy Akide-Udoh, FIFA’s Goodwill Ambassador for Women’s Football and Nigeria’s all-time leading scorer with four Olympic goals, has a perfect record of scoring in every match she’s played at the Games. She netted two at the Sydney Olympics, in the 1-3 losses to Norway (in Canberra) and the USA (in Melbourne). She also scored twice in Athens four years later, in the 1-2 defeats to Sweden and Germany.
Four-time African Player of the Year Perpetua Nkwocha trails with two goals, scored in the 1-3 defeat by China in Canberra in 2000 and the 1-3 loss to Brazil in Beijing eight years later. Vera Okolo’s solitary strike against Japan in 2004 remains a significant milestone for the Super Falcons.
