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By Ebenezer Bajela.
Super Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre says she is happy with the team being tagged underdogs ahead of the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The nine-time African champions are currently in Turkey where they are involved in exhibition games in preparation for the World Cup scheduled to hold from July 20 to August 20.
The Falcons beat Haiti 2-1 last Friday at Emir Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey and will face World Cup co-host, New Zealand today.
Victory over Haiti means the Nigeria senior women’s national team made it two consecutive wins after snapping out of their seven-match winless run.
Despite their dominance in Africa, the Falcons have failed to excel at the global stage with the quarter-finals in the 1999 edition their best outing and even face a more difficult task after being paired with co-hosts Australia, Canada and the Republic of Ireland in Group B.
While much is not expected of Randy Waldrum’s side heading into the Mundials owing to their recent poor performance, the Leicester defender in an interview with NFF TV said she was happy with the underdogs’ tag while adding that the team is in a good position ahead of the tournament.
“I think we are picking up momentum now with the last two results and not just that but with our performances and we are starting to come together as a team and you could see that in us,” the 24-year-old said.
“Right now we are in a good position preparing as we are here in Turkey and trying to put every detail into practice and make sure that come summer the team is ready to perform.
“We know we are obviously against good competition, and we definitely can’t look past that.”
She added, “But I think we are in a group where people look at us as underdogs which I really like.
“The pressure is on the likes of Canada and Australia, but we have some amazing talents in this team, so with that, we are going to put in some fight and some good performances. With that, I think we can cause a couple of upsets.”
Nigeria have not been convincing since Randy Waldrum took charge of the team in 2020. They finished fourth at the last Womean Africa Cup of Nations- one of the worst outings by the country.