Super Falcons bow out of Paris 2024 Olympics after losing to Japan
The Super Falcons of Nigeria have been eliminated from the women’s football event of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The team bowed out after losing 3-1 to Japan in their final Group C game at La Beaujoire Stadium, Nante, on Wednesday.
The result was Nigeria’s third consecutive loss of the competition, the Randy Waldrum-led ladies finished bottom of the group with zero points, conceding five goals and scoring one.
Previous results condemned the Falcons to get a convincing victory against the Japanese for any chance of progressing out of the group.
They needed to defeat Japan by a scoreline of at least three goals difference to finish in second place or as one of the two best third-place teams, depending on results elsewhere.
Nigeria’s game plan did not mirror the team’s ambition, and the Falcons were a goal down in the 22nd minute. Hamano Maika put Japan ahead with a well-taken finish.
Tanaka Mina doubled the Japanese lead a few minutes later after sliding the ball past a prone Chiamaka Nnadozie.
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Shortly before halftime, however, Jennifer Echegini pulled one back for Nigeria. A deft give-and-go exchange between Echegini and Asisat Oshoala set up the PSG striker, who smashed the ball past Yamashita Ayaka, the Japan goalkeeper, from outside the box.
The strike was the Falcons’ lone goal of the competition, and it sparked a brief show of resurgence in the team.
But Nigeria’s hope for a comeback was quelled right on the stroke of halftime. Kitagawa Hikaru bent a free kick hard and fast beyond Nnadozie to restore the Japanese cushion and secure their victory.
The 2024 Paris Olympics was Falcons’ first appearance at the Games in 16 years. It was the team’s fourth Olympics, having qualified for the competition in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
Proofreading, editing by Gift Luckson and Maryam Suleiman, Editor and Journalist at Neptune Prime.
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