Super Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum has said his side were unlucky against the English in the round of 16 match at Brisbane.
Recall that the Super Falcons made it to the round of 16 after defeating the co-hosts Australia 3-2 in the group stage.
They also drew 0-0 with the reigning Olympics champions Canada and then drew 0-0 with the Republic of Ireland in their last group stage game.
However, today, the Super Falcons who have been so promising in the 2023 edition of the World Cup fell 4-2 via penalties to England in the round of 16.
Waldrum and his girls were hoping to go beyond the quarter-finals stage, a feat they last achieved in 1999 but that dream is over for now courtesy of Desire Oparanozie and Michelle Alozie who missed their spot-kicks during the penalty shootout.
“I think we could have (won it in 90 minutes). We had the best chances, we hit the crossbar twice in regulation play. We were a bit unlucky not to get something out of it.”
“They’ve been fantastic the whole tournament,” he said.
“I said to them after the game, we’ve not lost a game realistically (outside the penalty shootout).
READ MORE: 2023 WWC: Super Falcons Crash Out To England On Penalties
“We’ve played against the Olympic gold medallists (Canada), the European champions (England) and we kept a clean sheet in both of those games.
“We played the host nation (Australia) and Ireland, who are in the top 20, and we didn’t lose.”
“South Africa was exceptional in their run as well and you saw they created a lot of problems for the Netherlands yesterday,” he said.
“I hope what we’ve done is show the rest of the world that football in Africa is relevant.
“I hope people have seen that there is talent there and that we have the ability, and with a little structure and a little organisation, and a commitment to provide the resources that we need, hopefully, people see that we can be a major player on the world stage.”
“We don’t want to take the success and now not continue to move forward when we get back to Nigeria,” the coach added.
“I think it would be a great opportunity and it would do wonders for football in Africa,” he said.
“For all the nations, for all the young players, to come and see an environment like we have seen in Australia would be massive for all the young women aspiring to play for their countries.”
