Team Nigeria’s Super Falcons have crashed out in the group stage of the Paris Olympic football event after losing 3-1 to Japan yesterday.
The Falcons needed an outright win to stand a chance of progressing into the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams but failed to fly in their final match of Group C of the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, their first outing at the Olympics in 16 years.
After 0-1 defeats by Brazil and Spain in their two earlier matches, the Falcons were expected to throw the kitchen sink at the Asian champions. Instead, the Nadeshiko were two goals up just a little after the half-hour mark, both scored within 10 minutes of each other.
Mika Hamano fired past goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie to give the Asian champions the lead after 22 minutes, and in the 32nd, Mina Tanaka doubled the lead, leaving the nine-time African champions with a heavy burden to lift to stand a chance of victory.
Jennifer Echegini briefly gave hope of that possibility, with a brilliant strike with three minutes to go into recess, but the Japanese restored their two-goal advantage in added time of first half when Hamano got her second with a superb free-kick.
The much-expected revamp in the second half failed to materialize, and the Super Falcons have departed the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in France without making a single point and scoring only one goal in their three matches.
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