Super Falcons of Nigeria today bow out of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, despite showing a dominant performance against the Lionesses of England.
The Falcons defeated lost 4-2 on penalties to the Lionesses.
Nigeria had an impressive first 45 minutes, hitting the woodwork through Plumptre, while Ajibade and Kanu were dangerous throughout the half.
England struggled in the first 45 minutes, not creating much at all but could’ve gone ahead when the referee awarded a penalty to them but was overturned after a VAR review.
With the first half ending goaless, just 2 minutes into the second half, the woodwork again denied Nigeria the lead.
The Super Falcons kept mounting the pressure on the Lionesses creating chances upon chances which they failed to convert. With frustration on the English side, they got reduced to 10 players in the 87th minutes after the referee upgraded Lauren James yellow card to red following a VAR review.
Lauren James’ action that led to red cardNothing to separate both sides after the 90th as the game headed into the extra time.
Nigeria made their numerical strength count in the extra time, largely dominating the game as the English sat back to defend. Failure to convert created chances by Nigeria pushed the game into the penalty shootout as there was nothing to separate both sides after 120 minutes of play.
England won the penalty shootout 4-2 to progress to the quarter-final.