Super Falcons Need Fresh Players For FIFA Women's World Cup — Former Coach

Godwin Izilien, a former Super Falcons Coach has advised head coach Randy Waldrum to sideline old players and build his team around fresh players ahead of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.

Nigeria is in Group B of the competition with co-hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada, and the Republic of Ireland.

Speaking to The Guardian, Izilien said, “For the Super Falcons to excel at the 2023 Women's World Cup, I believe the old players in the squad should be sidelined to pave way for the younger ones."

He warned that politicising the team selection of the Super Falcons will be to Nigeria's detriment on the global stage, stressing that other participating countries aren't building their teams around aged players.

“Playing politics in team selection will not augur well for the Super Falcons on the world stage.

"Other teams in the world are building their teams around young players because they understand that the lifespan of a female footballer is short.

“This year’s World Cup will be tough as 32 teams will be competing and the coach should brace up for the task ahead by picking the best players for the tournament,“ he noted.

The former Super Falcons Boss queried the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for being behind schedule in its preparation for the competition in July, adding that Waldrum should refrain from displaying a similar attitude seen at the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) held in Morocco.

“The NFF, at this point, should have started setting out guidelines and programmes to get the girls ready for the World Cup.

"Quality friendlies and good training programmes should be put in place for them. 

“I do not understand why the coach is not going around the country to look for more talents who will put the regular players on their toes for a place in the team.

"The World Cup is just about six months away and I hope he doesn’t show the same attitude we saw at the AWCON in Morocco.

“If that is what he wants to do again, then the Super Falcons may be shown the exit door very early at the competition.

"The coach should know that women's football has advanced in other climes and all hands must be on deck to ensure that the Falcons made the country proud come July,” he stated.