‘Nigeria play a very different style’- Ex-Arsenal and England star warns Lioness ahead of Super Falcons clash
‘Nigeria play a very different style’- Ex-Arsenal and England star warns Lioness ahead of Super Falcons clash
After drawing with Ireland and Canada and winning against Australia, Nigeria’s Super Falcons will take on England in less than four days
Former Arsenal and England star, Rachel Yankey, has issued a harsh warning to the Lionesses ahead of their match against Nigeria’s Super Falcons in a few days, Soccernet.ng reports.
Randy Waldrum’s troops, according to the former Birmingham Ladies winger, are a difficult squad to face for the reason that they play a completely different style of football.
The Lionesses are gearing up for what could be a challenging knockout game as they face Nigeria, a team that has proven to be unpredictable and formidable.
In their final group game of the Women’s World Cup, England secured an impressive victory over China, netting six goals.
However, two controversial VAR decisions denied them an even more comfortable lead, resulting in a final score of 6-1.
On the other hand, the nine-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions have been unbeaten in their last three games at the World Cup tourney, drawing against Canada and Ireland.
Nigeria, who are seen as the underdog, also caused an upset when they defeated World Cup co-hosts Australia 3-2 in their encounter in Brisbane, showing their ability to surprise even strong teams.
Meanwhile, despite England’s dominant performance, the Lionesses’ legend has cautioned against underestimating their upcoming opponents.
“I think the next game will be quite tough to be honest. Nigeria play a very different style of football.” she expressed her thoughts on the upcoming clash to Metro.
She continued, “It’s silly, but before today part of me was thinking, ‘Oh, it could be easier if [England] come second and play Australia.’ So I’m glad in this game they’ve got goals and managed to rotate the team so they can rest some players. Some players who haven’t played at a World Cup before got on the pitch, which was good to see; it was a real positive in many ways – not just goals.”
The Lionesses, having been aware of the Super Falcons’ threat, must be on their watch in the forthcoming encounter due to their unpredictable style of play and previous excellent performance.