WAFCON 2024: MaduGu ‘flattering’ by a Zambian bundle, but says Nigeria remains grounded
Justine Madug Coach says Nigeria’s players are in aimed at and not deducted, even after their big 5-0 victory over Zambia on Friday.
Super Falcols were cruised next to copper queens in the quarterfinals of the female African Cup Nation, with the goals of Echo, Esther okoronkwo, Infants, Blind masterand Folashe Market Sealing a highlighted victory.
Before the match at the Larbi OPOULI in Casablanca, many expected southern Africans to become a serious challenge for the ninthed African champions, but it was not the case.
Praise continues to pour for Nigerian ladies, but coach Maduga insists that his players will remain based, taking every game as it comes as they follow the tenth African title.
“We are very happy to cross this obstacle. We had good performance, girls set up good performance and we won,” he said.
“Naturally, when you beat the games in the way we won, you are obliged to be happy. So we are very happy, we are excited about that, but we do not lead this because we still have a lot of work in front of us.
“The scenar can be flattering, but then we came for the victory and we knew that the players were capable of doing it.
“The players were quite motivated to make sure that the mission we struggle to become a reality is alive.
“The ghost in the camp before the match was quite high. The mood in the camp was quite big. You should have been around girls to know they were really determined to take them out.”
Madugu also rejected the claim that his team approached the match with revenge. In the edition of 2022. Year, copper queen denied Nigeria Bronze medal with 1-0 victory.
Goalkeeper Safe for the company They accepted their own goal in the third place of the match in Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.
“We did not look for us from that perspective of the Revenge Mission”, “ He continued.
“Instead, it was a game we were supposed to win so we could move to the next phase of the competition.
“Yes, it seemed to be revenge because we lost them in the last edition in the third place. And (now) we got one of them that is pretty comfortable.”
Although Nigeria covered its group, they faced heavy criticisms for not achieving more goals. Finding a network five times in the quarterfinals was a significant statement, and the coach explained what the team entered this time.
“It’s like I kept talking at previous press conferences, you know, the strategy that the opposition adopts and what you do,” he added.
“We played in the previous games in the group phase, the opposition decided to just park the bus and play a low block and it made us a little hard for us to play football.
“Girls are the best they could and they still created a chance, but those conversions of these chances were a problem. And we constantly emphasized that we were still working in progress.
“We still look at areas of weakness, especially opportunities on set-pieces. We constantly worked on them and then end up in front of naked. And (against Zambi) we see results.”
Nigeria will face the winner of the conflict between Senegal and rule the African champions South Africa For the place in the finals scheduled for 26. July at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat.
