Nine-time African champions, the Super Falcons, will take on the senior women’s national team of Portugal in a friendly match in Lisbon on Monday (today), as part of their preparations for the 2024 WAFCON tournament in Morocco.
The 2024 WAFCON tournament will be played from 5 to 26 July in the North African country.
The Super Falcons’ contingent flew out of the Federal Capital, Abuja to Casablanca, Morocco on Sunday morning aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight, and then travelled to Lisbon.
Monday’s encounter will take place at the Estádio José Gomes in the Amadora precinct of Lisbon and will commence at 7 pm Portugal time (same time as in Nigeria).
It’s the second friendly the team will be involved in recently, having beaten Cameroon 2-0 in Abeokuta earlier this month.
Coach Justin Madugu’s team have trained at the MKO Abiola National Stadium on Thursday evening, and at the Turf Arena on Friday and Saturday, in preparation for Monday’s encounter.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced a 24-player squad for the tournament.
The squad saw the return of star forward Asisat Oshoala and defender Ashleigh Plumptre but the omission of Washington Spirit striker, Gift Monday, raised questions.
Goalkeepers Chiamaka Nnadozie and Tochukwu Oluehi, experienced defender Osinachi Ohale, midfielder Christy Ucheibe and forward Francisca Ordega were among those who worked out under the guidance of Madugu and his assistants.
US-based defender Michelle Alozie, Saud Arabia-based Ashleigh Plumptre, captain Rasheedat Ajibade and fellow midfielders Halimatu Ayinde, Jennifer Echegini and Toni Payne, as well as forwards Esther Okoronkwo, Rinsola Babajide and Chinwendu Ihezuo, were expected to team up with the team at the training camp in the Portuguese capital.
After today’s friendly, Nigeria will also face Ghana’s Black Queens in another friendly match in Morocco on Sunday, June 29, days before the kick-off of the continental finals.
The Black Queens arrived in Benslimane, Morocco, last Tuesday for a 14-day training camp ahead of the tournament.
Nigeria will be seeking a 10th continental title in Morocco. Nigeria has won nine of 12 championships that have been contested since the CAF launched the event as a tournament in 1998 – to become Africa’s most decorated women’s national team.
The Falcons tackle Tunisia, Botswana and Algeria in group B of the competition, with the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca as the venue.
