WAFCON 2022: South Africa legend happy Nigeria isn’t part of the final

WAFCON 2022: South Africa legend happy Nigeria isn’t part of the final

By Editor

The Super Falcons of Nigeria failed to defend their African title after losing to hosts Morocco on penalty shootout on Monday in the ongoing Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semi-finals, BSNSports.com.ng understand.

For South African legend, Portia Modise, who scored 101 goals for Banyana Banyana during her career, Nigeria have lost their winning edge because they keep fielding many aged players that ought to have retired. She Believes they should have given opportunities to younger players from their Under 20s.

However, only three players are aged 34 and older in the Nigeria squad – captain Onome Ebi (39), midfielder Rita Chikwelu (34) and goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi (35).

“One thing that I see in the Nigerian team is that they don’t want to let go of the senior players. They need to give the young players an opportunity. Experience alone is not going to work.” Said the 39-year-old player, who retired in 2015 after playing for 15 years with Banyana Banyana, during a media event organized by FIFA ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Modise is however happy that Nigeria’s absence from the final is an opportunity for South Africa or Morocco to win the WAFCON title for the first time. She also believes that Super Falcons should assess what went wrong with their campaign.

“I am so happy that Nigeria is not part of the final. They have been dominating us for so many years.” Modise said.