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Ebenezer Bajela.
Following the 2023 Women’s World Cup group stage draw on Saturday, former Super Falcons coaches Maureen Mmadu and Christopher Danjuma have thrown their weight behind the nine-time African champions on a tricky Group B, The PUNCH reports.
Randy Waldrum’s side are paired in Group B, alongside co-hosts Australia, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland.
The Women’s World Cup holds from July 20 to August 20, 2023, with 32 countries from six confederations taking part.
The Falcons have not been convincing in recent times, losing their title at this year’s WAFCON in Morocco last July.
However, the former coaches expressed confidence in the Falcons to make it past the group stage in Australia.
“Every team at the World Cup is tough and I don’t think there are any easy groups. But I believe if our girls put in their best, they will qualify from the group,” ex-Falcons star, Mmadu, a veteran of four World Cups, told The PUNCH.
“The group is not very tough, but our ladies shouldn’t think that the job is done already, that’s why they must take their opponents seriously. I am confident that with the right attitude they will make it out of the group,” the ex-assistant Falcons coach added.
On his part, Danjuma stated, “I want to look at our last performance at the last World Cup, where we made it out of the group, every team wants to improve on their last performance. I am sure that with some of the new players introduced into the team, we can fancy our chances of making it past that stage as well.
“It is true that the Falcons didn’t impress at the last WAFCON but the World Cup is the biggest stage and everybody who comes to the World Cup wants to show their worth and also prove that it was not a fluke that they got there. I can be sure that whatever performance the team put on at the WAFCON will spur them to do very much better.”