Chiamaka Nnadozie
AFOLABI SAHEED OLAWALE
Nigeria’s number one goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, has opened a window on the approach the Cup-holders are thinking of adopting for their defence of the title when the 14th Women Africa Cup of Nations finals begin in Morocco this month.
Nnadozie, one of the best women goalkeepers in the world, who is serving her third successive year as African Woman Goalkeeper of the Year, told thenff.com that the 10-time champions are looking at taking it one match at a time as they compete in Group C against Egypt, Zambia and newcomers Malawi at the competition scheduled for 26th July – 16th August in the North African kingdom.
“We will take it one match at a time because we cannot afford to stumble at any stage as a result of over-confidence. We will be focused squarely on the double targets of FIFA World Cup ticket and retaining the trophy.
“It is interesting to have more teams at the finals (16 now, up from 12). That will make the tournament more competitive, but we are calm and focused regardless of the number of teams in the finals.”
The easy-going goal-tender also dismissed the notion that some groups are stronger than others in the three-week, 16-nation finals that will see all matches played in Rabat and Casablanca.
“I don’t share the belief that any group is tougher than the others. Honestly, right now in Africa, there are no longer minnows. There will be a lot of surprises in this tournament as the so-called small teams will be keen to prove they are no pushovers, so all teams deserve respect and must be taken seriously.
“For us, we know what we are going for: the Cup and the World Cup ticket. It will not be easy but we are the Super Falcons of Nigeria!”
