Nigeria vs Brazil: Super Falcons possible line up for 1st Olympic Game

The Super Falcons of Nigeria will take against the renowned Brazilian yellow, blue, and white in their opening group match at the 2024 Olympics.

After a 16-year absence, the Super Falcons are returning to the Olympics, and their hard-earned return sets up an intriguing matchup.

To reach this great stage, the Super Falcons had to overcome a challenging qualifying round in which they defeated South Africa and Cameroon. Despite the commotion occurring within the association, all of the citizens have high expectations for the team.

American coach Randy Waldrum joined the Super Falcons in 2020, having turned down the position three years prior.

In the African Nations Cup, he led the Super Falcons to one of their worst results in twenty years—fourth place.

Waldrum, nevertheless, made sure the squad qualified for the second round of the World Cup for the third time in a row.

Waldrum is a two-time National Coach of the Year who led Notre Dame to championships while he was there, despite the fact that he hasn't won a trophy in ten years.

By trying to win an Olympic medal, he would be seeking to break that curse of ten years.

Goalkeepers: Chiamaka Nnadozie, Tochukwu Oluehi.

Defenders: Michelle Alozie, Oluwatosin Demehin, Osinachi Ohale, Chidinma Okeke, Nicole Payne.

Midfielders: Deborah Abiodun, Onyi Echegini, Toni Payne, Ifeoma Onumonu, Christy Ucheibe.

Forwards: Rasheedat Ajibade, Chinwendu Ihezuo, Uchenna Kanu, Chinonyerem Macleans, Esther Okoronkwo, Asisat Oshoala.

The Super Falcons play with a great deal of synchronization and discipline, which is one of their main strengths. The other is versatility.

Preventing the opponent from scoring and defending in units, motions, and as a team has been their primary mantra in recent times.

Their defensive discipline is demonstrated by their three clean sheets in four games, two of which came against Olympic gold medalists and European champions.

This quality will come in handy when they play aggressive teams like Brazil and Spain.

The club's versatility—more than five players can play at least two different positions on the team with ease—is another strong suit.

Nearly all of the forward players are capable of playing as either wingers or strikers, and players like Toni Payne and Rasheedat Ajibade can play both in the middle and on the wing.

If they survive this group of death, it will depend on how the coach uses this adaptability.

Lately, there has been a noticeable lack of attacking unity and, as a result, few goals.

Waldrum constantly modifies his attacking setup to find the ideal balance that would allow him to produce the appropriate attacking output, owing to his diverse range of attacking skills.

The coach faces a significant challenge in selecting the ideal combination of players who can provide the required outcomes because various individuals bring different solutions to the squad.

Randy Waldrum is expected to start

Goalkeeper - Chiamaka Nnadozie

Defenders - Michelle Alozie, Oluwatosin Demehin, Osinachi Ohale and Nicole Payne.

Midfielders - Deborah Abiodun, Onyi Echegini, Toni Payne and Christy Ucheibe

Forwards - Rasheedat Ajibade and Uchenna Kanu

Preparing for the Olympics the Super Falcons lost to Canada in a friendly fixture.

The game between Nigeria and Brazil will take place at the Bordeaux Stadium, in France on Thursday July, 25 2024.

The game will kick off at 6 PM Nigerian time and will be available on Supersport.