Izuchukwu OkosiNigeria’s Super Falcons played out a goalless draw against FIFA Women’s World Cup debutants Republic of Ireland at the Suncorp Stadium on Monday to advance to the round of 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as runners up in Group B.
Prime Business Africa’s Izuchukwu Okosi presents the players ratings from the game.
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Chiamaka Nnadozie
The Super Falcons captain struggled with the crosses and it was not particularly her best performance of the tournament so far. Nnadozie’s Monday performance lacked conviction.
The relief was palpable on her face when the final whistle went. 6/10.
Michelle Alozie 71/0
The Houston Dash Footballer cum medical student was one of the finest performers on Monday with her astute defending and intelligent runs down the right flank. 71/0.
Ashlegh Plumptre
The former Leicester City women’s player has a few nervy moments but overall was impressive with her performance.
The downside to her game on Monday was that the Irish girls found her left back position rather too easy to carve open within the first 25 minutes. 6/10.
Osinachi Ohale 71/0
The experienced centre back took no prisoners on Monday against the debutants and was a solid rock throughout the duration of the game. 7/10.
Tosin Demehin
The 21-year-old centre back started on a shaky note as was noticed in the 3-2 win against Australia.
She was under pressure early on but settled superbly as the game wore on. 7/10.
Halimat Ayinde
The defensive midfield star who has three World Cup appearances to her CV was good at breaking plays and stifling the nippy Ireland players.
A very disciplined game for Ayinde who will also play on the round of 16 with the confirmation that Deborah Abiodun will not be eligible for the game following the extension of her suspension. 7/10.
Christy Ucheibe
In central midfield was the sweet operator Christy Ucheibe. She was the knit that bound the defence and attack.
Capable of being flamboyant and also business-like when she needs to get stuck-in, Ucheibe was good albeit lost possession of the ball a couple of times. 6.5/10.
Toni Payne
The midfielder was arguably the best player on the pitch by a country mile on the pitch.
Payne created goal scoring opportunities for the team and two of them were quite promising – presented to Asisat Oshoala – albeit were narrowly missed.
Payne covered every blade of the pitch. 8/10.
Uchenna Kanu
Kanu’s dipping header from a corner kick early in the second half almost saw the ball nestle inside the net but it was scooped to the bar by goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.
Kanu’s trickery pace troubled the Irish. However, on a few occasions, her showboating weren’t necessary as she lost possession of the ball rather embarrassingly. 6/10.
Rasheedat Ajibade
The team apparently became stronger and better since the second game against Australia and the availability of Ajibade contributed to that positive effect.
She made intelligent run with her progressive carries and also helped immeasurably with her defending. 6/10.
Asisat Oshoala
The Barcelona striker came close to breaking the duck for Nigeria on two occasions in the two halves. However, the resolute Republic of Ireland defenders and goalkeeper denied her.
The best of the two chances was the one in the first half but was the defence of the opooarion stood strong.
The five-time African women’s Footballer of the Year Oshoala was subbed off in the second half.
The Substitutes
Ifeoma Onumonu
The striker showed hunger and desire when she came on from the bench which was obviously as a result of the healthy competition from Oshoala.
Onumonu harried and chased every lost cause and came in midfield to help start attacking moves. 5.5/10.
Gift Monday
Brought same time as Onumonu in a double substitution which saw Oshoala and Kanu going off.
Monday was inventive, and made probing runs into the Irish penalty area. 6/10
Onome Ebi
Came towards the end of the game and did little to effect the game. Not rated.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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