Nigeria women's national football team
The Nigeria national women's football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons (parallel to the men's Super Eagles epithet), represents Nigeria in international women's football and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation. The team is by far Africa's most successful international women's football team winning a record eleven Africa Women Cup of Nations titles, with their most recent title in 2018, after defeating South Africa in the final. The team is also the only women's national team from the Confederation of African Football to have reached the quarterfinals in both the FIFA Women's World Cup and Football at the Summer Olympics.
| Nickname(s) | Super Falcons | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Nigeria Football Federation | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Sub-confederation | WAFU (West Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Vacant | ||
| Captain | Desire Oparanozie | ||
| Most caps | Maureen Mmadu (101)[1] | ||
| Top scorer | Perpetua Nkwocha (80)[2] | ||
| FIFA code | NGA | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 38  | ||
| Highest | 23 (July 2003) | ||
| Lowest | 39 (December 2018) | ||
| First international | |||
  (Nigeria; 16 February 1991) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 (Côte d'Ivoire; 11 May 2019) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 (Tingvalla IP, Sweden; 6 June 1995)  (Leverkusen, Germany; 25 November 2010)  (Le Mans, France; 6 April 2018) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1991) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (1999) | ||
| Football at the Summer Olympics | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2000) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (2004) | ||
| Africa Women Cup of Nations | |||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1991) | ||
| Best result | Champions (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018) | ||
| WAFU Zone B Women's Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2018) | ||
| Best result | Champions (2019) | ||
Medal record
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They are also one of the few teams in the world to have qualified for every edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, with their best performance at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup where they reached the quarterfinals.
History
They won the first seven African championships and through their first twenty years lost only five games to African competition: 12 December 2002 to Ghana in Warri, 3 June 2007 at Algeria, 12 August 2007 to Ghana in an Olympic qualifier, 25 November 2008 at Equatorial Guinea in the semis of the 2008 Women's African Football Championship and May 2011 at Ghana in an All Africa Games qualification match.
The Super Falcons have been unable to dominate beyond Africa in such arenas as the FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games. The team has been to every World Cup since 1991, but managed just once to finish in the top eight. In 2003, the Super Falcons turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the first round, failing to score a single goal and losing all three Group A matches. They did little better in 2007, drawing only one of their Group B matches. However, they faced the group of death in both 2003 and 2007, grouped both times with rising Asian power North Korea, traditional European power Sweden, and a historic women's superpower in the USA.
Nigeria hosted the African women’s championship finals for the third time in 2006, replacing Gabon, which was initially granted the right to host but later pulled out citing financial difficulties, and won it for the seventh time in a row. Nigeria’s Super Falcons and Ghana’s Black Queens represented Africa in China for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The "Falconets" are the country’s junior team (U-20), which performed creditably in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup held in Russia when they beat Finland 8–0 before they were sent packing by Brazil in the Quarter-finals. They were the runner-up to Germany at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Nigeria also played in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup held in Canada and lost to Germany in the finals 0–1, Asisat Oshoala got both the golden ball and golden boot.
The "Flamingoes" are the country’s cadet team (U-17), which qualified for the inaugural women's U-17 World Cup New Zealand 2008. Nigeria qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup where they were placed in Group A with South Korea, Norway and hosts France.
Coaching staff
| Position | Name | Start date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach |  |
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| Assistant coach | |
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| Assistant coach | |
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| Physical coach | |
Players
Current squad
The following 30 players were named to the roster for the 2020 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (third round).
Head coach: Vacant
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Tochukwu Oluehi | 2 May 1987 | |
| 16 | GK | Chiamaka Nnadozie | 8 December 2000 | |
| 2 | DF | Chidinma Okeke | 11 August 2000 |  |
| 3 | DF | Osinachi Ohale | 21 December 1991 | |
| 4 | DF | Ngozi Ebere | 5 August 1991 | |
| 6 | DF | Ugochi Emenayo | 20 December 1997 | |
| 7 | DF | Mariam Ibrahim | 12 December 1995 | |
| 14 | DF | Glory Ogbonna | 25 December 1998 | |
| 5 | MF | Regina Otu | | |
| 11 | MF | Chinaza Uchendu | 3 December 1997 |  |
| 12 | MF | Folashade Ijamilusi | 30 May 2001 | |
| 13 | MF | Ngozi Okobi | 14 December 1993 |  |
| 15 | MF | Rasheedat Ajibade | 8 December 1999 | |
| 18 | MF | Ihuoma Onyebuchi | 10 December 1997 | |
| 8 | FW | Asisat Oshoala (C) | 9 October 1994 | |
| 9 | FW | Gift Monday | 9 December 2001 | |
| 10 | FW | Rofiat Sule | 3 August 2000 | |
| 17 | FW | Francisca Ordega | 19 October 1993 |  |
Recent call-ups
This list may be incomplete.
Player records
- Active players in bold, statistics as of 2020.
Most capped players
|
Top goalscorers
|
Recent results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Lose
2019
2020
| 2020 | v |
Honours
Intercontinental
- FIFA World Cup
- Olympic Games
- Quarterfinals: 2004
Continental
Sub-Continental
Other
- 2019 Four Nations Tournament (women's football)
- Third-place
Awards
- African Women's National Team of the Year
- Winners: (2010, 2014, 2016, 2018)
Competitive record
World Cup
| FIFA Women's World Cup Finals | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| Group stage | 10th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Group stage | 11th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
.svg.png){kind=small} | Group stage | 21st | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
.svg.png){kind=small}  |
To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 8/9 | - | 26 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 20 | 63 |
| FIFA Women's World Cup history | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Stadium |
|
Group stage | 17 November | | L 0–4 | Jiangmen Stadium, Jiangmen |
| 19 November |  | L 0–1 | Zhongshan Stadium, Zhongshan | ||
| 21 November |  | L 0–2 | Jiangmen Stadium, Jiangmen | ||
|
Group stage | 6 June | | L 0–8 | Tingvallen, Karlstad |
| 8 June | | D 3–3 | Olympia Stadion, Helsingborg | ||
| 10 June |  | L 2–3 | Tingvallen, Karlstad | ||
|
Group stage | 20 June |  | W 2–1 | Rose Bowl, Pasadena |
| 24 June | | L 1–7 | Soldier Field, Chicago | ||
| 27 June |  | W 2–0 | Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, Landover | ||
| Quarter-finals | 1 July |  | L 3–4 | ||
|
Group stage | 20 September | | L 0–3 | Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia |
| 25 September | | L 0–5 | |||
| 28 September | | L 0–3 | Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus | ||
|
Group stage | 11 September | | D 1–1 | Chengdu Sports Center, Chengdu |
| 14 September | | L 0–2 | |||
| 18 September | | L 0–1 | Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai | ||
|
Group stage | 26 June | | L 0–1 | Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim |
| 30 June | | L 0–1 | Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt | ||
| 5 July | | W 1–0 | Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, Dresden | ||
|
Group stage | 8 June | | D 3–3 | Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg |
| 12 June | | L 0–2 | |||
| 16 June | | L 0–1 | BC Place, Vancouver | ||
|
Group stage | 8 June | | L 0–3 | Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims |
| 12 June |  | W 2–0 | Stade des Alpes, Grenoble | ||
| 17 June | | L 0–1 | Roazhon Park, Rennes | ||
| Round of 16 | 22 June | | L 0–3 | Stade des Alpes, Grenoble | |
Summer Olympics
| Year | Result | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Did not qualify | |||||||
| Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
 | Quarter-finals | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
|
Did not qualify | |||||||
 |
To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 3/6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 18 | |
Africa Women Cup of Nations
| Africa Women Cup of Nations | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1991 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| 1995 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 |
| Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
 | Champions | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| Champions | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 |
| Champions | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
 | Third place | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| Fourth place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
 | Champions | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| Champions | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| Total | 11 Titles | 67 | 54 | 8 | 5 | 214 | 28 |
African Games
| African Games | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
 | Champions | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
 | Did not qualify | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
 | Fourth place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | |
 |
See Nigeria women's national under-20 football team | |||||||
| Total | 3/4 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 42 | 10 | |
- 2019 edition of the football tournament was played by the U-20 team.
References
- "FIFA Women's Century Club" (PDF). FIFA. 25 August 2009.
- "AFRICAN LEGEND OF THE WEEK: PERPETUA NKWOCHA". Goal.com. 9 March 2017.
- "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
External links
| Men |
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| League system |
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| Domestic cups |
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| Awards |
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| Lists |
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Nigeria at the FIFA Women's World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nigeria squads – FIFA Women's World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nigeria women's football squads – Summer Olympics | |||||||||||||
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