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Super Falcons defender Glory Ogbonna, who will be appearing at her first Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, tells ‘TANA AIYEJINA about the positive vibe in their Brisbane camp and the zeal to make their compatriots back home proud when they play Canada in their opening clash Friday
How are you looking ahead to your first World Cup?
We are already in Australia for the World Cup. I feel great, I’m very excited playing football at the highest level, the senior World Cup. Having represented Nigeria at youth level twice at the U-20 Women’s World Cup, it’s been my wish to be at the senior World Cup and I’m so grateful that my wish has been granted. So, I’m very grateful to God for making this happen.
How prepared are the Falcons for their first game?
Talking about our first game against Canada, we are ready, very very ready, of course. We’ve been preparing, training hard for this first game.
You are playing Canada, the Olympic champions, and critics say the Falcons are underdogs. Do you agree?
Of course we know Canada are the Olympic champions but I tell you, ‘we are also a good side.’ If you talk about individual players, we have them. And combining these players into a team, that makes us unique. So, we have all it takes and are fully ready; collectively, individually, we are fully ready for the first game.
This is the first time you are feeling the World Cup vibe? How is the feeling like?
The vibe here in our camp in Brisbane is very positive, everybody here is positive of a good result. We are not jittery, we are all set. We’ve been training, we’ve been working hard, so we are just waiting for that day to come, and we can’t even wait anymore. Come Friday, we are going all out to give our best and make our country proud.
What’s the difference between this senior World Cup and the U-20 World Cup?
From the name alone, you can differentiate between the U-20 Women’s World Cup and the Women’s World Cup. You have the youth level and the senior level, so the difference is clear, very clear. You can’t compare junior to senior level. Back in the day, in primary school, when you graduate to secondary school, you’ll discover that both levels are not the same. So, it’s the same thing. Whoever has attained senior level can’t be the same as junior. So, the World Cup is the World Cup, where multi-talented players showcase what they have, you see experienced players and a whole lot of things.
Lastly, do you think the Falcons are ready to take on the world, bearing in mind they are the lowest ranked team in Group B?
Yes we are the lowest ranked in our group but rankings don’t play football these days. That’s why I keep saying that you don’t underrate any team. On the history of football and the World Cup, we’ve seen lower ranked teams beating the higher ranked teams. So, it doesn’t matter the rank or no rank. What matters is just to go in there and show off the stuff you are made of. You play, ranking isn’t coming to play. It’s 11 versus 11. So, it doesn’t matter who is up there or who is lower. We are not after that now. So, we are looking forward to making our country proud come Friday. I think everything is set, it’s two days to go.