Sports
Green Falcons complete Ghana double ahead World Rugby Series
After a humbling 40-0 defeat in the first game on Tuesday, the Ghanaians were more resilient on Saturday and were delighted to keep the scoreline more respectable.
Nigeria got off the blocks as quickly as possible with a couple of tries in the opening stages, as the Ghanaians trailed 12-2 at halftime.
Ghana showed more intent in the second half and halved the deficit to 16-8.
The friendly encounter became more intense with some hits and fists between the players, but that was doused by a Nigerian try, Faustina Akeje, who took Nigeria’s tries to 20.
The Green Falcons added one more try to end the game at 24-8.
General Manager of the NRLA, Isah Lawal, said the results of the friendly games will reflect in the team’s tactics ahead of the World Series.
“We wanted to make this game more structured and more constructed, and them being able to score this time, we don’t see it as a negative, but now we know the areas to tighten up and make sure we are sharp at the tournament,” he said.
Chairman of the Nigeria Rugby League Association, Abiodun Cole, expressed confidence in the team’s ability ahead of the World Series.
“We have fantastic guys in Alaro City behind us, and we also have a lot of support from ex-players who are home and abroad. The team’s strategy involves combining local players with those based abroad to create a formidable squad.
“With faith in their abilities and God’s guidance, the team is looking forward to putting up a good show in Canada.”
The friendly matches offered the Green Falcons the opportunity to fine-tune their tactics ahead of a more significant test, their participation in the inaugural Rugby League World Series in Canada later this month.
Nigeria will compete against Ireland, Fiji, and hosts Canada for the final qualification spot at the 2026 Women’s Rugby League World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
ON finals, which will be staged in Morocco.
Benin Republic’s interim coach Abdoulaye Ouzérou has released the list of players who will represent the Cheetah Queens as they battle the reigning African champions for a place in the final qualifying round.
Ouzérou’s squad features a mix of experienced players and emerging talents drawn from both local and foreign clubs.
According to the Benin Football Federation, the team has been in camp for over a week, focusing on tactical discipline and physical conditioning to face the star-studded Nigerian side.
The Super Falcons are the defending champions after defeating Morocco in the last edition’s final, and will be aiming to continue their dominance on the continent.
Nigeria is expected to announce its final squad in the coming days, with head coach Justine Madugu likely to retain most of the players who featured in the last international window.
The two-legged encounter promises to be intense, as Benin seeks to pull off a major upset against one of Africa’s most successful women’s teams.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.