Nigeria's Super Falcons fell to a painful 1-0 defeat against Brazil in their opening game of the 2024 Paris Olympics on thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria were placed in a difficult 2024 Olympics group that had Japan, Spain and Brazil. Still, they were optimistic about their chances of qualifying from the group despite the quality of their opponents.
On thursday, they filed out against Brazil in their first game of the competition. Coach Randy Waldrum named a strong lineup that had the likes of Rasheedat Ajibade, Jennifer Echegini, Michelle Alozie, Chiamaka Nnadozie, and others.
Brazil dominated the fixture from the blast of the whistle and looked the better side. But Nigeria started growing into the fixture by the tenth minute. The Brazilians were very physical and there were fears that Alozie had sustained an injury following a bad tackle on her, but she continued after receiving some treatment from the medics.
Both sides had chances to score at both ends, but both goalkeepers were in their elements and made brilliant saves. The Canarinhas though they had taken the lead in the 34th minute after Marta put the ball into the net, but it was ruled out for offside.
But just two minutes later, the Super Falcons lost focus again, and Brazil capitalized as Gabi Nunes struck the ball cleanly from the edge of the box to score and give Brazil the lead.
The Canarinhas took their lead into the break, but Nigeria were not out yet, as they needed just one goal to make things level. Unfortunately, they did not get close enough to score. Ajibade and Christry Ucheibe tried some shots, but they could not beat Lorena in Brazil's goal.
Brazil even had the better chances, as Marta struck the bar late into the game. Eventually, it ended 1-0 at the Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux. Nigeria's next game is against world champions Spain on Sunday, and they have to get a draw at least to stand a chance of qualifying from their group.
