Super Falcons head coach Randy Waldrum has set knockout phase qualification as the minimum target for the Super Falcons at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The West African giants made it to the Mundial for the eighth time by virtue of reaching the semi-final of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations where they lost to Morocco and ultimately finished fourth.
The Falcons will execute their matches in Group B alongside Canada, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.
“The first target for us at the World Cup is to advance out of the group stage,” Waldrum said as per the NFF.
“Everyone wants to get to the knockout stage but obviously in order to achieve that, you have to advance out of the group, and now, our focus is principally on doing that.”
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will kick off on July 20 when co-hosts New Zealand play Norway.
Nigeria will start their campaign against Canada a day after at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium before taking on Australia and Ireland at Lang Park in Brisbane on July 27 and 31 respectively.
The 11-time African champions are among six other countries (United States of America, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Brazil, Japan) that have qualified for each World Cup edition since its inception in 1991.
The Super Falcons’ best finish came in the quarter-finals of the 1999 edition in the United States of America followed by the Round of 16 at the last edition in France.
