The last thing Desire Oparanozie will be remembered for in the Super Falcons is missing a penalty during the shootout against England in the round 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
After a gruelling 120 minutes of football, which ended goalless, the Falcons were knocked out on penalties with the former captain sending Nigeria’s first penalty high into the stands after George Stanway had missed the first kick for England.
That miss was an irony, because Oparanozie is renowned as a good penalty taker and that is one of the things it takes to play first in a game of that magnitude. She was brought into the game with just six minutes left to play in extra time, and that also explains her mission on the pitch.
After being out of the team for about two years, what would be her first involvement on the pitch for the Falcons ended in disappointment at the World Cup and it is not surprising it culminated in her retirement.
What is however shocking is that she is quitting football at club and country level at the age of 29.
“To my fans, family, and friends, thank you for the show of love and support over the years. It’s time to take a bow, as I believe there’s no better time than now. I’m officially announcing my retirement from professional football for both club and country,” Oparanozie announced her retirement via her X handle (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
“To every team and coach I have played for, to every mate I’ve played alongside, and to every opponent I have played against, thank you all for being part of this incredible journey. Thank you, football, thank you Nigeria.”
To say Oparanozie was crestfallen after the Falcons ouster from the World Cup is stating the obvious. Even while the Falcons were hailed for their impressive outing, the striker, unlike some of her teammates, was not bold enough to look into the camera during their departure and arrival in Nigeria.
Although she apologised for the penalty miss, whatever happened cannot taint her legacy with the national team. In 36 games for the Super Falcons, she scored 22 goals and won four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles for her country.
Oparanozie began her career for Nigeria at youth level, twice at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2010 and 2012, where she scored two and three goals respectively. Nigeria reached the final in 2010, losing 2-0 to hosts Germany in the final and also reached the semi-finals in 2012, where they lost 2-0 to the United States.
Between that period, she had also been invited to the Falcons for the 2010 African Women’s Championship, now known as WAFCON. As a 17-year-old then, Oparanozie had a lot to learn from veteran striker Perpetua Nkwocha, who was the most prolific women’s footballer on the continent then.
At the 2010 tournament, Oparanozie did not hide under the shadows of Nkwocha, scoring her first goal of the tournament in the 3-0 thrashing of Tanzania in the last group game. She also went ahead to score one goal each in the semi-final and the final as Nigeria won its eighth continental title in South Africa.
She missed the 2012 tournament but was back and established in 2014, 2016 and 2018, as the Falcons won the title on the three occasions. She is notable for her crucial goals in the 2014 and 2016 tournaments. She scored a 54th minute goal against South Africa in 2016 to book a final spot for Nigeria and her late goal against Cameroon in the final won the 10th title for Nigeria.
“Desire Oparanozie’s retirement is a huge shock but she’s had a hard time with injuries. One of the best Super Falcons strikers ever. I remember how Cameroonian journalists joked with me in Yaounde in 2017, that she used juju to score the 2016 WAFCON winner. They couldn’t believe it,” journalist Nurudeen Obalola stated on X.
“Thank you for an amazing career. It’s been an honour and a pleasure watching, commenting and analysing your games. That 86th minute winner against Cameroon in the 2016 AWCON remains one of the finest ever by any Nigerian footballer,” another journalist, Babatunde Koiki, remarked.
The striker also played at four Women’s World Cups in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 but didn’t score at any of the tournaments.
Since breaking into the senior women’s team, Oparanozie has been one of the most consistent players for the Falcons and when the transition of a new generation dawned in 2019, she was named the new captain of the team by coach Thomas Dennerby, who praised her for her “discipline and good character.”
But her problem with the national team began with her leadership role in the team. Following the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in her role as captain, she led calls for equal pay in Nigerian football, citing disparity between the bonuses received by the team’s male counterparts the Super Eagles and the Falcons. The players also protested their unpaid bonuses and allowances.
It led to her ban from the team but the NFF, through its spokesperson Ademola Olajire, denied her dropping had nothing to do with the protest.
“Oparanozie is still part of the team’s plans, and her non-inclusion has nothing to do with that protest in France because she was not the only one involved. I think she will just have to keep working on her game and, if she gets the opportunity, then push for consistent selection.”
The former Falcons captain lashed out at the NFF for saying that she needed to push harder to be selected, when she was dropped for subsequent games.
“Work on my game and push for consistent selection. Those who’ve been without a club for over a year now, how many of their games did they work on over the past year to merit their inclusion?” she said while reacting to Olajire’s comments.
Overlooked for national team duties, Oparanozie was not distracted at club level as she consistently showed the Nigeria Football Federation what they were missing by not inviting her. After leaving Turkey in 2014, she spent six years with Guingamp, scoring 45 times in 106 games, which made fans of the club name a bus-stop after her in Guingamp.
She also played for Dijon between 2020 and 2022, scoring seven times in 25 appearances as well.
Before going abroad, she had stints with Bayelsa Queens and Delta Queens between 2010 and 2012.
She probably could have been on her way out of the national team unceremoniously in 2021. Therefore, returning to the Falcons after two years was no mean feat. It perhaps proves she deserved her place in the team all these while even if she lost the captaincy.
Eventually, it is safe to say she read the room by quitting after the 2023 World Cup, having been injured for most parts of her last appearances for the Falcons, as she only played six minutes in Australia and New Zealand.
Going by the culture of the Falcons and how Oparanozie herself broke into the national team at 17, it is only a matter of time before emerging strikers like Opeyemi Ajakaye and Sebastine Flourish, who recently dazzled at junior levels, break into the Falcons, while the likes of Uchenna Kanu, Gift Monday, Esther Okoronkwo and Raheedat Ajibade can still carry the team for a few more years.