Cameroon coach Enow Ngachu says Nigeria are still a force to be reckoned with in African women’s football, despite his team’s 2-1 victory over the Super Falcons in the semi-final of the Brazzaville 2015 Africa Games on Tuesday, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The loss meant seven-time African champions Nigeria will only be able to win bronze if they beat Ivory Coast in the third-place match on Thursday.
Ngachu, whose team are favourite to defend the title they won at the last edition of the Games in Mozambique in 2011, said nobody should underestimate Nigeria’s potential.
”Nigeria still remains the best on the continent, in spite of the defeat. Nigeria has a very good players, and that is something many countries on the continent do not have,’’ the Indomitable Lionesses coach said.
The coach, who led his team to the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, said Nigeria had the capacity to bounce back from defeat to be stronger.
He said, “Nigeria will surely pick up, with the kind of players it has. Nigeria will come back.
“At least they were champions in 2003 and 2007, and African Women’s Championship champions seven times, and that’s something to tell you Nigeria is a continental powerhouse.”
Ngachu, whose team lost 2-0 to Nigeria in the 2014 AWC final, added, “We know that Nigeria has a good attack, with the way they have played so far here in Brazzaville, and with what they did to us in Rwanda in 2014.
“So, we had to use counter-attack to stop their players, and it worked well for us.” Agency report