Ed Dove, Special to ESPNJul 23, 2024, 11:52 PM ET
CloseEd Dove is a writer and scout who has a deep and enduring passion for African sport, politics and literature. Instagram: @EddyDove22, Facebook: @EddyDoveAfrica
The Paris Games will be the seventh Olympics in which Africa’s women footballers have competed, but there’s been precious little to celebrate.
Five nations have previously qualified for the tournament, but only one has reached the quarterfinals in eight separate attempts since 2000 — Nigeria 20 years ago.
Digging into the statistics makes for even more painful reading.
African teams have won only one of their combined 24 fixtures — the Super Falcons vs. Japan at the 2004 Athens Games — while they’ve lost 20. They have scored 19 goals but shipped 69 — just under 2.9 per match.
Can Zambia and Nigeria — Africa’s women’s football qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games — buck the trend when the tournament kicks off on Thursday?
Here’s what to expect.
Zambia’s women’s football has come on in leaps and bounds over the past two years, but will it be enough to do well in Paris? Phil Walter/Getty Images
Olympic pedigree: Back-to-back Olympic qualifications is a sign of Zambia’s progress in recent years, with the Copper Queens also reaching the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in 2023. Now ranked No. 64 in the world, Zambia were No. 104 three years ago, ahead of their chaotic debut at the tournament in which they broke records for goals conceded and — individually — for goals scored at the Olympics.
They conceded 10 in their opener against the Netherlands, but Barbra Banda saved face with three goals in response.
Banda then netted another hat-trick — the first Olympic player to score two triples in the same Games — as the Copper Queens drew 4-4 with China. Their frantic group-stage campaign ended with a 1-0 defeat by Brazil, and eventual elimination, but it certainly won’t be forgotten any time soon, with no team having averaged more goals scored per match or goals conceded per match (let alone both!) in Olympic women’s football history.
How did they qualify? Zambia received a bye to the second round of CAF qualification then a walkover against Mali before defeating Ghana 4-3 — with Racheal Kundananji and Banda netting the decisive goals — to set up a winner-takes-all showdown with Morocco. The Atlas Lionesses won the first leg 2-1, but a Banda double — including a 105th-minute penalty — gave Zambia a 2-0 triumph in North Africa to take them through to a second consecutive Games.
Star player: Banda proved her status as a big-game player three years ago, and she has continued to make decisive contributions.
The 2020 Chinese Super League Golden Boot winner missed the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after her testosterone levels were found to be outside of CAF’s accepted guidelines, but she rebounded with the top scorer award when Zambia won the COSAFA Championship later that year. Now with Orlando Pride in the NWSL — and the second-most expensive woman footballer in history — she also scored at the World Cup as Zambia picked up their first win in the tournament, against Costa Rica.
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One to watch: Kundananji arrives at the Olympics as the most expensive women’s player in the world, with Bay FC having paid $US862,000 to take her to the NWSL from Madrid CCF. She scored on debut for the Pride against Houston Dash in March, demonstrating to supporters of her new club her propensity for rising to the occasion.
Zambia fans are only too aware of her quality, with Kundananji having scored in every major tournament in which she’s featured. She’ll be hoping the 2024 Games are no exception.
Fixtures: United States (July 25), Australia (July 28), Germany (July 31).
Prediction: There’s no doubting Zambia’s courage and character, while an attacking unit containing Banda, Kundananji and Grace Chanda can test even the most fearsome of international defences.
They’ve come a long way since that 10-3 hammering by the Netherlands, but back-to-back 5-0 defeats by Japan and Spain at the Women’s World Cup 12 months ago provided a reminder of the gulf between the Copper Queens and the top sides. Germany and the USWNT are clear favourites to advance from the group, and even a point against Australia (ranked No. 12 in the world) would be an excellent return.
Nigeria’s captain, Rasheedat Ajibade, played a pivotal role in the Super Falcons qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images
Olympic pedigree: Nigeria are Africa’s most consistent qualifiers, having reached three Olympic tournaments; indeed, they were the only continental team to have featured in the competition until 2012. They’re still the only African women’s team to have won a match at the Games, and, after missing the three previous editions, this new generation will be determined to reassert themselves against the world’s finest.
How did they qualify? Nigeria also received a bye through the first round before dismantling poor Ethiopia 5-1, with Rasheedat Ajibade proving too much for the East Africans. They then narrowly saw off old foe Cameroon — Esther Okoronkwo scored the only goal of a cagey tie — before Ajibade’s first-leg penalty against South Africa in the decider ultimately saw the Falcons though to Paris at Banyana Banyana’s expense.
Star player: Asisat Oshoala has been named Africa’s best women’s player on a record six occasions — two more than her nearest rival, Perpetua Nkwocha — and she’s primed to be remembered as Africa’s GOAT having once appeared set to be the finest player of her generation.
The two-time Ballon d’Or nominee approaches her first Olympics with 37 goals in 61 international appearances, and she has been recognised as a pioneer at club level; she was the first African to play in the NWSL and the first to feature in a UEFA Champions League final. A European champion with Barcelona in 2021, she’s now a teammate of Kundananji at Bay FC.
One to watch: Ajibade. Among a talented group including the likes of Chiamaka Nnadozie, Michelle Alozie and late arrival Ifeoma Onumonu, Ajibade, Nigeria’s skipper, looks the most likely to step up as a match-winner for the Super Falcons. The “Girl with Blue Hair” will hope to repeat her heroics from the 2022 WAFCON, in which she was joint top scorer and made the Team of the Tournament.
Fixtures: Brazil (July 25), Spain (July 28), Japan (July 31).
Prediction: Nigeria will take strong encouragement from their World Cup showing last year, when they were eliminated by England on penalties in the round of 16 having not lost a match. Indeed, had they been a little more adventurous on the day, the West Africans may have dispatched the eventual finalists during an ill-tempered contest in Brisbane. Nonetheless, with quality even more concentrated at the Olympics, the competition appears fierce, and Nigeria must oust at least two of the world’s top-10 teams — including world champions Spain — to progress.
“I have a lot of confidence in this team,” Oshoala told FIFA in June. “We have many young players and we can make things difficult for our opponents. We don’t just think about getting out of the group. I think we can actually walk away with a medal.” Regardless of that confidence, a first-round exit looks most likely for the rank outsiders in Group C.
Source link : https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40628337/olympic-games-expect-nigeria-zambia-women-football-tournament
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Publish date : 2024-07-24 03:52:00
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