2024 Olympic qualifier: Waldrum, Plumptre back for Super Falcons vs Cameroon
Published on February 15, 2024 By Mike Oyebola
American Randy Waldrum will return to the dugout when the Super Falcons take on Cameroon in a 2024 Women’s Olympic football tournament qualifying fixture next week.
Waldrum’s contract with the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, ended last summer and talks over a new deal have dragged on for several months.
His assistant, Justin Maduagu, has been in charge of the Super Eagles since then.
According to Samuel Ahmadu, a reliable women’s football expert, Waldrum and the NFF have agreed on a contract extension.
Also making a return for the game against the Indomitable Lionesses is centre-back Ashleigh Plumptre.
Plumptre has not made an appearance for the Super Falcons since their Round of 16 game against England at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria will battle fierce rivals Cameroon in the first leg of the third qualifying round tie at the Stade de la Reunification, Douala, next Friday.
The reverse fixture will take place at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, on Monday, February 26.
NFF confirms 21-player squad list for the Super Falcons ahead of Cameroon vs Nigeria fixture
Coach Randy Waldrum and defender Ashleigh Plumptre are reportedly poised for a return to the Super Falcons ahead of the 2024 Olympics qualifiers, Cameroon vs. Nigeria, a feat that was confirmed with the announcement of the 21-player list ahead of the two legged fixture.
The return of Ashleigh Plumptre was confirmed with the 21-player announcement by the NFF, but the return of Randy Waldrum, who led the team to an impressive World Cup 2023 campaign, still remains in doubt.
Here are the 21 players invited to represent the Super Falcons of Nigeria by the NFF for the third round of the Olympics qualifiers for Africa:
Goalkeepers:
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC);
Tochukwu Oluehi (Shualat Alsharqia FC, Saudi Arabia);
Gift Monday (Coasta Adeje Tenerife Egatesa, Spain)
When is the Super Falcons of Nigeria's next game?
The Super Falcons of Nigeria will be returning to action on Friday, February 23, 2024, in the first leg of the 2024 Olympics qualifiers for Africa, which is currently in the third round.
Nigeria will also take on Cameroon again on February 26, 2024, in the return leg of the fixture, which will be played at the MKO Abiola National Stadium.
DSP Bright Edafe PPRO DELTA STATE @brightgoldenboy
Regarding the ongoing protest in Ughelli, the Command wishes to inform members of the public that yesterday 13th February 2024, Policemen from Ughelli Area Command intercepted an unregistered Benz GLK without a plate number in Ekuigbo community, the men confronted the four boys who could not establish ownership of the car. In an attempt to arrest them, some of the youths attacked the Police, destroyed their vehicle, and broke the head of one of the officers. Nine of the suspects were arrested and will be charged to court. Youths are advised to stay off any protest because it won't deter us from doing our job.
PERFECT START SEES BIANCONERE DOWN INTER IN DERBY D'ITALIA
14 FEBRUARY 2024
Matchday 17 of this Serie A season couldn’t have gone much better for Juventus Women, with the Bianconere making it two from two in Derby d’Italia games against Inter this term with a 2-0 win in Milan.
The game was decided early on by an unplayable duo of Maelle Garbino (with two assists) and Joe Echegini (with two goals).
The match
Just seven minutes were enough for Juventus Women to open the scoring away at Inter, with Echegini again proving to be a threat and continuing her fine start to life in Italian football.
But the move in its entirety was special. Echegini was heavily involved in winning the ball back, and then an exchange of passes between the Nigerian, Cristiana Girelli and Maelle Garbino ended with the latter crossing for the January signing to head home.
Just seven more minutes later and the lead was doubled, and through a familiar source. Once again Garbino found space on the left after Girelli’s participation and she put another perfect ball into Echegini’s path, who made no mistake in finishing past Sara Cetinja.
Inter looked to respond and Annamaria Serturini did have a big chance fall her way, but Pauline Peyraud-Magnin had a relatively comfortable night’s work.
Juventus were firmly in control from early on, and coach Joe Montemurro made a number of changes in the second half with the Bianconere on course for another win over Inter.
Joe Montemurro’s comments
“It was the kind of game that I expected from the girls, despite the difficult pitch that made it hard to play as we would have liked to play. It wasn’t easy to get the ball rolling in midfield, but we were able to reorganise ourselves from the start and we were able to take all three points.
“We were very solid defensively and I can only congratulate the girls for that.
“[Joe] Echegini’s impact has been very good, and it’s showing on the pitch. She’s the king of player I like, she doesn’t speak too much but she shows what she’s worth in games. She’s always paying attention throughout the week to what we want to do, and then she’s able to give everything for 90 minutes. What she’s doing on the pitch speaks for itself and she’s scoring goals and playing well.”
Joe Echegini’s post-match words
“It feels amazing [to score my first brace for Juventus], the team played amazing. I’m really excited for the next game. To come over to a good side and win the derby is amazing, I’m just really excited for the next games now.”
"I didn’t actually know it was four goals [in five games], I haven’t been keeping count. But I think one of the better aspects of my game is the ability to score so I always have confidence in front of goal and try to find myself in front of goal. Sometimes you have to just have to just go for it and see what happens, and be more eager to go and get the ball.”
Kansas City: One dead and nine injured in Super Bowl parade shooting
14 February 2024
One person has died and nine have been injured in a shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, near a Super Bowl victory parade.
The shots were fired west of Union Station, near to where thousands had gathered for the parade on Wednesday.
A fire department official told the BBC that three of the victims were in a critical condition and five were seriously injured.
Two armed people have been taken into custody, police said.
Video shared on social media showed officers streaming into the busy station and victims being taken away in ambulances.
The city was celebrating Sunday's Super Bowl win by the Kansas City Chiefs.
A victory parade ended outside Union Station in downtown Kansas City around 14:00 local time (20:00 GMT), and local reports said the players were still on a stage when shots started to ring out.
On Monday, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said the department would have over 600 officers posted along the parade route, plus another 250 officers from neighbouring forces.
Never4getU: He better not come to Lagos else he will be pelted with sachet of water or stone. People are angry and if try come around to make his nonsense speech he won't believe his eyes.
Please make sure you lead them and take pictures for Nairaland.
Sports › Re: Nigeria Female National Teams' Thread by naptu2: 10:20am On Feb 16, 2024
