Ahead of the all-important second group stage clash between the Super Falcons of Nigeria and the Matildas of Australia, head coach of the Super Falcons, Randy Waldrum says there is a great spirit in the team’s camp.
The Super Falcons played out a 0-0 draw in their first game with Canada on the 21st of July, with the goalkeeper of the side, Chiamaka Nnadozie with a double save from the penalty spot to deny veteran Christine Sinclair after a VAR-assisted call penalised Francisca Ordega early in the second half.
In a video posted on the Super Falcons Twitter handle, Waldrum highlighted the good mood in the camp and mentioned the use of yoga to calm the players’ nerves.
Well, I think it’s good,” Waldrum remarked.
“Yesterday, on game day plus one we just did recovery training for those players that played a lot of minutes.
“Got some yoga, got some recovery training, got them in the pool, the hot and cold tub and gave them a little bit of a break in the afternoon to go shopping and sightseeing around the hotel.
“It was good for them to be out they’ve been so isolated in camp and then today we’ll be training in the evening since our matches are going to be late in the evening. The next two matches will be at 8. pm so we want to simulate that.
“We’ll see how training goes tonight but so far the camp looks to be in a very good place right now. Keep supporting us, we appreciate the support, and all the messages I’ve gotten from back home in Nigeria, as well as the Nigerians here in Australia there was great support in the stadium, just keep sending positive vibes to the team because we’re in this all together.”
The Super Falcons and Canada are currently joint second in Group B with one point after their first game.
Australia occupy the first position in the group with three points from one game, while the Republic of Ireland are last with zero point.
Super Falcons best showing at the FIFA Women’s World Cup was a quarter-final finish at the USA 99 tournament.