By Jacob Ajom
After dismissing the feeble opposition from their Malian counterparts in the opening match, the Super Falcons of Nigeria will this morning take on host team, the Bayana Bayana of South Africa in a match that holds a lot of promise for the Nigerian women as a victory today will guarantee them a quarter final berth in the competition they have won seven times.

Falcons celebrate

After winning the AWC in 1998, the Falcons retained the trophy two years later after beating hosts South Africa 2_0 in Johannesburg in a match that was later abandoned after 75 minutes due to crowd invasion of the pitch. Today’s encounter will therefore provide an avenue for the two sides to settle scores once and for all.
Nigeria coach Uche Eucharia is confident her ladies are in good shape for today’s encounter.

“Our girls are ready,” a confident Uche told Cafonline, soon after the 5-0 demolition of Mali.
Nigerian sweat merchant said, “we are not worried about the match against South Africa. The team has never been a problem to Nigeria. We have renewed our team and we have worked hard with younger players. In this team, there are only four players that took part in the last CAN. Our girls are ready to confront any team in this competition”.

The Super Falcons, are no doubt the continent’s best women’s football side. The Falcons have lost only four games to African competition since the inception of the women’s game in Africa.

Nigeria is blessed with skillful and talented players who have been exposed to some of the best leagues in Europe . Some of the players that can make it happen for Coach Uche include Rita Chikwelu, three-goal heroine,  Perpetua Nkwocha, Cynthia Uwak, goalkeeper Precious Dede, among others.

However, the aspect of home advantage could be a big factor for the South Africans as they go all out to give a good account of themselves in front of their fans. But the rich history of Nigeria in the competition is something that cannot be easily taken lightly.