“They said we were in Group of Death” – Asisat Oshoala confident ahead of tough Olympic group stage

Ex-Barcelona forward Asisat Oshoala is unfazed by Nigeria’s challenging group stage draw at the upcoming Olympic tournament, Soccernet.ng reports.

Randy Waldrum’s squad has been seeded in the same group as 2023 Women’s World Cup Champions Spain, as well as Brazil and Japan, who have strong football histories.

However, the Bay FC forward pointed out that Nigeria previously faced a similarly tough group in the last World Cup and excelled.

She believes the 11-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions can also perform well in this group given the quality of the Nigerian side.

“At the World Cup last year, people said the same thing,” she told FIFA.com. “They said we were in the Group of Death [with Australia, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland] and could not qualify. But we did. I have a lot of confidence in this team. We have many young players and we can make things difficult for our opponents. We don’t just think about getting out of the group; I think we can actually walk away with a medal.”

Nigeria’s Super Falcons have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, marking their first appearance in the prestigious event in 16 years.

The team clinched their spot after a hard-fought 1-0 aggregate victory over South Africa’s Bayana Bayana in a tense two-legged encounter.

The women’s football tournament is set to kick off on July 25, a day before the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony, and will culminate with the final in Paris on August 10.

In the group stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, joined by the two best third-placed teams, making every match critical.