How we’ll outmuscle Brazil’s Canarinhas in Olympic opener – Rasheedat Ajibade

Atletico de Madrid Femeni’s player of the year, Rasheedat Ajibade, has revealed a secret weapon the Super Falcons can unleash in their Paris 2024 Olympics group opener against Brazil, Soccernet.ng reports.

Randy Waldrum’s team has been drawn into Group C alongside Japan, Brazil, and Spain, which has been labelled the group of death.

Speaking ahead of their group games, Nigeria’s captain, Ajibade, revealed that the eleven-time African champions have an advantage due to the familiarity some of her teammates have with their opposition players at the club level.

“Playing in professional leagues, most of these players are from other countries; we have them as teammates at club level. It’s not so much of a big deal, although they are great teams. Every opportunity that I have to come to play, I will give my best. I know these players, the ones we know. I can come up with my little idea and tell the team this is how this particular player plays and some information to deal with some players that I know very well, for example, those in Spain and some Brazilians. A couple of our teammates also have these players in their club sides, and I think we all have a bit of experience that we could gather to help the team succeed in the Olympics,” the 24-year-old told 54footballx.

Ajibade was part of the 2018 African Nations Championship Nigeria women’s national football team where she won the tournament alongside the team. She also scored a crucial penalty for the Super Falcons in their match against South Africa to send Nigeria to the Olympics for the first time in sixteen years.