Eguavoen names Ajibade, Nnadozie and 26 others as Super Falcons begin LA 2028 Olympic qualifier
Interim Head Coach Augustine Eguavoen has selected a 28-player Super Falcons squad, led by captain Rasheedat Ajibade and goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, for next month’s Los Angeles 2028 Olympics qualifying tie against Comoros, as Nigeria start a campaign in which they hope to erase the memory of a winless showing at Paris 2024, according to the Nigeria Football Federation.
Eguavoen has combined experienced European and American-based professionals with a group of home-based youngsters. Defenders Michelle Alozie, Oluwatosin Demehin, Ashley Plumptre and Shukurat Oladipo headline the back line, while midfielders Christy Ucheibe, Jennifer Echegini and Toni Payne provide the creativity in the middle of the pitch. Ajibade, Asisat Oshoala, Gift Monday, Joy Omewa and Uchenna Kanu lead the attack.
The coach has also called up Christiana Uzoma, Farida Abdulwahab, Tumininu Adeshina, Favour Nkwocha, Shakirat Moshood, Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Janet Akekoromowei, who add fresh legs to the group.
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The players will report to the AM2PM Hotel in Ijebu-Ode on Saturday, October 3, and Comoros will host the first leg of the second-round tie on Friday, October 9, before Nigeria welcome them for the return leg on Tuesday, October 13.
Both matches will take place at the Remo Stars Sports Stadium in Ikenne-Remo, because Comoros has no CAF-approved venue for international fixtures. The winner on aggregate will advance to the third round of a five-fixture qualifying campaign that ends in December next year.
The Falcons enter the race with fresh memories of the last one, which took them to the Olympics for the first time in 16 years. They beat Cameroon 1-0 in Abuja, thanks to Esther Okoronkwo’s 15th-minute goal, to reach the final qualifying round, where they met South Africa.
Ajibade scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute of the first leg in Abuja, and the return leg in Pretoria finished goalless, with Nnadozie and a resolute defence keeping Banyana Banyana at bay to secure a 1-0 aggregate win.
The joy of qualification faded once the tournament began. Nigeria lost 1-0 to Brazil and Spain before falling 3-1 to Japan in their final Group C match, with Echegini scoring their only goal.
The defeat sent the team home at the bottom of the group with zero points, after they had conceded five goals and scored one under head coach Randy Waldrum.
That experience gives this squad a strong motive to prove Nigeria can compete with the best at the Olympics, and Ajibade, Nnadozie, Echegini and Oshoala, who have already faced that pressure, will guide the younger players through the opening tie against Comoros as the team pursues a place in Los Angeles.
