FILE PHOTO: Nigeria played to a goalless draw against Canada. PICTURE: Getty Images
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0 MELBOURNE: The teams headed to half-time with neither side threatening to break the deadlock.
Nigeria and Canada shared the spoils when they played to a goalless draw at the Rectangular Stadium in Australia.
This was the second match of Group B in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It was all Canada with the ball in the first half, as Nigeria sought to catch the Canadians on break-attacks. The teams headed to half-time with neither side threatening to break the deadlock.
The second half was eventful, with Canada awarded a penalty after five minutes. The penalty had pitted their captain Christine Sinclair against her Nigerian counterpart, Chiamaka Nnadozie, in the 50th minute. Brilliantly, the Nigeria skipper saved it. Chiamaka Nnadozie became the hero for Nigeria in the stalemate against Canada.
Both teams pushed hard for the winner, but their attempts were wayward, aggregating four shots on target, Canada registered three shots and Nigeria registered one shot throughout the match to be precise.
The Super Falcons, who are the most successful team in Africa with 11 Women’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) titles, held their nerve to secure a point despite finishing the match with 10 players after Deborah Abiodun was red-carded in the 90th minute.
Although the Canadians controlled the better part of the match, they could not use their superior ball possession to penetrate the defensive wall of their African counterparts. At one stage, the North Americans had over 70% ball possession.
The two teams walked away with a point in what was a tight encounter, as neither wanted to concede a goal.
Incidentally, it is Nigeria’s first goalless draw in their 27 FIFA Women’s World Cup matches. Up next for Nigeria is the co-hosts, Australia, next week on Thursday. The Africans, who have featured in every World Cup, would want to improve in their next game and hopefully make it to the knockout stages.
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