Nigeria” Super Falcons stunned co-host Australia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup after coming from behind to win 3-2 at Brisbane Stadium on Thursday.
In a dramatic end to the first half, Emily Van Egmond gave Australia the lead only for Nigeria to equalise before the half-time whistle and then score twice in the second half to secure victory in Group B.
The victory is Super Falcons win at the 2023 edition of the tournament after their opener against Canada ended in a barren draw.
Australia edged ahead in the first minute of added time at the end of the first half.
Van Egmond guided her shot beyond Chiamaka Nnadozie following Caitlin Foord’s low cross into the penalty area.
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But Nigeria equalised in the sixth minute of added time.
This was when Rasheedat Ajibade’s shot deflected towards the far post to Uchenna Kanu, who placed her shot through Steph Catley’s legs and beyond Mackenzie Arnold.
Asisat Oshoala’s introduction in the 63rd minute immediately unsettled the Australian defence and Nigeria forged ahead two minutes later when Osinachi Ohale, who was hurt in the process, headed in at the far post after Ajibade’s header was pushed away by Arnold.
Oshoala’s presence unsettled Australia again on 72 minutes as she scored Nigeria’s third goal from a tight angle following a mix-up between Alanna Kennedy and Arnold.
Kennedy pulled a goal back deep into added time, but the defeat means Australia go into their final group game needing a win against Canada to guarantee a place in the last 16.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oshoala becomes the first Nigerian player to score in three Women’s World Cups.
Steph Catley, Australia’s captain who rued her team’s missed goal scoring opportunities expressed disappointment at the result, adding that the Super Falcons took their chances and deserved to win.
“Obviously extremely disappointed. I think this was a massive opportunity for us that we obviously let slide, but it’s tournament football, and this sort of thing happens.
“It was definitely not our best performance. We created a lot of opportunities that we potentially could have finished – I haven’t seen the statistics, but I assume we had a fair few shots.
“If some of those go in, maybe it’s a different story, but they [Nigeria] were great on the counter, and they finished their chances,” she said.
2023 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
GROUP B
MP MP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Nigeria 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
Canada 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
Australia 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
Rep. of Ireland 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0
