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Tag: Costa Rica

  • Super Falcons beat Costa Rica 1-0 to end seven-match winless run

    Super Falcons beat Costa Rica 1-0 to end seven-match winless run

    The Super Falcons of Nigeria ended their Revelations Cup adventure on a positive note after defeating Costa Rica 1-0 at the Estadio León in León de los Aldamas in the early hours of Wednesday.

    New girl, Esther Okoronkwo scored Nigeria’s only goal in the encounter to give Nigeria its first win first time in about a year.

    The Nigerian ladies had lost their first two games at the tourney to host Mexico and later Colombia by same scoreline 1-0.

    Down and out without a chance of winning the tournament’s trophy, the former African champions finally brought their A-game to the table against Costa Rica’s Las Ticas.

    Dominating their opponents with their physicality and intelligence, Nigeria missed several goalscoring chances before the breakthrough arrived on the stroke of halftime.

    Young midfielder Jennifer Onyi Echegini, who had been involved in a lot of Nigeria’s fine attacking play, wriggled her way to the baseline before sending a cross to the back post, where Esther Okoronkwo lurked.

    Okoronkwo steadied herself with a composed first touch before curling the ball past the goalkeeper into the far post.

    The result meant the Super Falcons had halted a winless run after losing its last 7 games under coach Randy Waldrum.

     

  • FIFA Women’s World Cup: HotSports awaits Trophy Tour to launch big plan for Super Falcons

    FIFA Women’s World Cup: HotSports awaits Trophy Tour to launch big plan for Super Falcons

    Renowned sports marketing company, HotSports says it is at an advanced stage of baking an elaborate plan for a huge boost from Corporate Nigeria for the Senior Women National Team, Super Falcons’ campaign at the 9th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand this summer.

    “I am happy at the conversation we have had with the NFF President, which centred on doing something special for the Super Falcons around the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” HotSports President/CEO, Mr. Taye Ige said after a meeting with President of NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau in Abuja on Thursday.

    The Super Falcons will be one of the 32 teams to compete at FIFA Women’s World Cup Down Under between 20th July – 20th August, and Nigeria is one of only seven countries to have featured in every edition of FIFA’s flagship women tournament since it was launched in China 32 years ago.

    Ige added: “There is no gainsaying that this is the biggest Women’s World Cup in history and there is the need to get as much support as possible for the team to have the best preparations possible for the finals.” He disclosed that the meeting had been facilitated by a Member of the NFF Board and immediate past Chairman of the Nigeria Women Football League, Ms Aisha Falode, who expressed her enthusiasm to have Corporate Nigeria coalesce support for the Falcons ahead of the World Cup.

    In a move that further underscores the desire of the present NFF administration to take the branding, marketing and general management of the women National Teams to levels never previously contemplated, Gusau said he agreed to meet with Ige in a turf-exploring meeting because the Federation is ready to consider proposals that will robustly boost the women’s game.

    “Women’s football has earned the right to greater attention, interest and funding, and we have to follow in the paths of what FIFA is doing for the game. We have 32 teams playing in Australia and New Zealand, making this the biggest-ever Women’s World Cup. Our Super Falcons definitely need all the support to prepare adequately for the finals,” NFF President Gusau said.

    Ige says HotSports is excited that the original Women’s World Cup trophy is coming to Nigeria for only the third time and the organization will use the trophy tour of 26th March in Abuja as a launchpad for its project.

    The Super Falcons are presently in Mexico for a Four-Nation Tournament involving the host nation as well as World Cup-bound Costa Rica and Colombia, after which they will take part in another tournament in Türkiye in April.

  • Qatar 2022: Costa Rica down Japan 1-0 to throw group E open

    Qatar 2022: Costa Rica down Japan 1-0 to throw group E open

    The Samurai Blue of Japan couldn’t replicate the fine form that saw them come from behind to beat the German team 2-1 in their group E encounter last week.

    The Japanese were stunned 1-0 by Costa Rica courtesy of an 81st-minute goal from Keysher Fuller.

    Costa Rica were drubbed 7-0 in their opening game against Spain and they have already been dubbed the whooping boys of the group, however, they were able to bounce back from the disappointment  and secure a lifeline against the Japanese.

    Meanwhile after the goal the Costa Ricans pretty much had everyone behind the ball inside their own half. forcing Japan to face a red wall that they struggled to break.

    After 90 minutes of football plus additional time, Costa Rica were run away winners of the encounter and thus throw the group wide open.

    The other members of the group Germany faces elimination battle in what seem like a feisty encounter versus Spain tonight.

    Group leader will be looking to book a spot in the round of 16 today versus Germany, the match promises to be entertaining and suspense filled.

     

     

     

  • Qatar 2022: Harvest of goals as La Furia Roja of Spain thrash Costa Rica 7-0

    Qatar 2022: Harvest of goals as La Furia Roja of Spain thrash Costa Rica 7-0

    The La Furia Roja of Spain today mauled Costa Rica by 7-0 in the group E opener at the Al Thumama Stadium to send signals to other footballing nations represented at the Mundial that they are in for serious business.

    Gavi sends in a pass  to Dani Olmo who swivels nicely before dinking it over Keylor Navas for Spain first goal in the 10th minute of the encounter.

    In the 20th minute ,Jordi Alba with a trademark cut-back to the edge of the box and Asensio is there to guide it into the bottom corner. Keylor should’ve done better but Spain won’t mind one bit.

    Alba is clipped in the box. Ferran Torres converts the penalty with a right footed shot to make it 3-0 in the 3oth minute.

    Spain finished the first half scoring three goals against helpless Costa Ricans.

    Upon resumption in the second half, Ferran puts pressure on the Costa Rica amid a defensive mix-up and his persistence pays off, as he finds space to roll it past Keylor Navas from close range.

    Morata picks out Gavi on the edge of the box and the teenager volleys it home via the post. What a hit from the youngster.

    Carlos soler and Alvaro Morata soon completed the rout in dying minute of the encounter to make it 7-0 in what seem to be a one sided affair.

  • Gusau hails Rivers United, encourages Eagles B, Bayelsa Queens to learn from defeats

    Gusau hails Rivers United, encourages Eagles B, Bayelsa Queens to learn from defeats

    President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has reacted to a number of matches by Nigeria’s representative teams across the world on Wednesday, praising Rivers United FC for standing strong to emerge as the only Nigeria team left in continental club competitions after a midweek of action across Africa.

    The Pride of Rivers dug their feet into the turf of the Benina Martys Stadium in Benghazi, Libya to earn a 1-1 draw with Al Naser FC, and qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup group stage on 6-1 aggregate. Their feat came hours after fellow Nigeria flagbearers Plateau United imploded in a rather poor final four minutes to lose 0-3 to Al Akhdar FC on the same turf, wiping out their three-goal advantage from the first leg.

    “On behalf of the NFF Board and the generality of Nigeria Football stakeholders, I congratulate Rivers United on their credible outing and I wish them success in the group stage. They did well to sustain the Nigeria flag in the competition.

    “On their part, Bayelsa Queens also gave their best in the semi finals of the CAF Women Champions League in Morocco against home team, ASFAR FC. I was hoping they would reach the Final so that we would go and support them but they were not disgraced all the same. They should take the lessons from the defeat to do better next time. They should also fight hard for the bronze medals in order not to come back home empty-handed.”

    The Queens lost by the odd goal to ASFAR and will now play Simba Queens of Tanzania for the third place, while ASFAR battle Cup holders Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the final.

    “As I have reiterated several times, the new NFF Board will provide tremendous encouragement for Nigeria women football to return strongly to its rightful place on the African continent and at global level,” Gusau added.

    Reacting to the Super Eagles’ 2-0 defeat against World Cup-bound Costa Rica in San Jose in the early hours of Wednesday, Gusau challenged the coaching crew and the players to take hard lessons from the loss and commit to returning to winning ways henceforth.

    “Costa Rica are heading to the World Cup and were highly spurred on by their fans, but then we are Nigeria and we should always have it in mind that our people want us to win all the time. I am not saying they did not give a good performance; they should know that winning matters.

    “The new NFF Board will be concerned with players that dorn our green-and-white going out for wins, whether they play in competitive and friendly matches. It is not enough to try or to make an effort; winning mentality is key. They tried their best in the game but they should learn from this and know that next time, they have to go all out to win or avoid defeat.”

    Oscar Duarte opened scoring for Los Ticos seven minutes into the game when he sliced past goalkeeper Kayode Bankole off a free-kick from the left by Joel Campbell.

    Attack –minded defender Dominion Ohaka danced his way into the Los Ticos’ eighteen-yard box in the 18th minute but his shot flew over the bar.

    Bankole made a number of good saves but the Eagles’ forwards could not mine fortune from the few opportunities that came their way, and in the 73rd minute, Kendall Waston headed over the Nigeria goalkeeper and a defender into the net, off a pull-out from the left by Campbell.

  • International Friendly: Costa Rica beat Super Eagles 2-0 in San jose

    International Friendly: Costa Rica beat Super Eagles 2-0 in San jose

    Qatar World Cup bound Conmebol side, Costa Rica defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria by 2-0 early Thursday morning before bidding their fans goodbye in a friendly encounter for them before the Mundial kick-starting on November 20.

    Oscar Duarte scored for the host in the 7th minute at San Jose before Kendall Waston added the second in the 73rd minute to condemn the Nigerians to another international friendly defeat.

    Costa Rica had several other chances to add to their tally as supporters at the National Stadium provided a carnival atmosphere ahead of the team’s departure for the World Cup in Qatar.

    Although it was the Super Eagles B team that featured in the encounter as the first team players were doing business for their various club sides.

    The hosts will feature in their third straight World Cup this month. They kicked off their qualification campaign sluggishly, picking up just one win in their first seven games. However, they bounced back with six wins in their final seven games before beating New Zealand 1-0 in the playoffs.

    Costa Rica will compete against Germany, Japan and Spain in Group E at the World Cup finals. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

     

  • International Friendly: Super Eagles face Costa Rica in San Jose today

    International Friendly: Super Eagles face Costa Rica in San Jose today

    All is now set for the face-off between the Super Eagles  B side and Costa Rica in an international friendly game in San Jose.

    The match is expected to serve as a test match for Costa Rica that’s World Cup-bound and serve as Super Eagles preparatory game for AFCON qualifiers in March.

    The match takes place by 8pm Costa Rican time and 3 am Nigerian time

    The Super Eagles’ delegation arrived in San Jose on Sunday evening ahead of the game, which will hold in the early hours of tomorrow.

    The Super Eagles are lodged at Real Intercontinental Hotel, San Jose,  the team is really made up of mostly home-based players, some of who were drafted from the national U-23 team.

    While the Super Eagles will not be in Qatar, they will look to put together a fine run of form ahead of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game against Serie Leone.

    Costa Rica secured their sixth World Cup appearance after  initially not securing an automatic spot from the CONCACAF  but got a second chance by defeating New Zealand in the  qualifying play-off final.

    Costa Rica are currently unbeaten in four straight games, claiming one draw and three wins, including a 2-0 victory over Martinique in Group B of the CONCACAF Nations League on June 5.

    Costa Rica will play in Group E alongside Spain, Germany and Japan in Qatar 2022.

     

  • Costa Rica 2022: Falconets land in Abuja after World Cup exit

    Costa Rica 2022: Falconets land in Abuja after World Cup exit

    After passing the night openly at Istanbul airport, the Falconets landed in Abuja in the early hours of Thursday following their ouster from the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

    Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Federation and the representative of Minister of Youths and sports, Toyin Ibitoye were on ground to receive the team at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    Recall that, the players and officials had issues with transit visas and were forced to sleep out at Istanbul Airport, and also had a few hours of delay in Colombia and Panama.

    Falconets defeated France, South Korea, and Canada to finish top of their group before crashing out following a 2-0 loss to the Netherlands in the quater-finals.

    Speculations are rife that some of the girls will be immediately drafted to the Super Falcons team that will feature at the Senior women’s World Cup slated for Australia in 2023.

     

     

     

  • Costa Rica 2022: Falconets target semi final ticket against Netherlands

    Costa Rica 2022: Falconets target semi final ticket against Netherlands

    Highly –inspired Falconets of Nigeria are determined to proceed further at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica and see The Netherlands as simply another mountain to climb to get closer to the diadem.

    The Dutch, who emerged from a tough Group D that included the United States of America and Japan, eliminating the Americans in the process, would not be a walk in the park for Chris Musa’s girls, but the two-time runners-up say they are aware of this fact.

    “The Dutch are a super-strong squad to have survived that group where the Americans were sent packing. In any event, any team in the quarter-finals must be a super-strong squad. We will not under-rate them, just as we did not under-rate any of France, Korea Republic, and Canada.

    “As I said at the beginning of the tournament, we are taking it one match at a time. Our overall plan for each of the games in the group phase worked well. And I believe that our overall plan for the match against The Netherlands will work as well,” Chris Musa said on Saturday.

    An explosive encounter is anticipated at the Estadio Alajuela Morera Soto (the same venue where the Falconets brought down the challenges of the Korean Republic and Canada) as from 11.30 pm Nigeria time on Sunday.

    In the 20 –year history of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria has played in the Championship Match twice, losing on both occasions to Germany, in Germany 12 years ago and in Canada eight years ago. In between, they reached the semi-finals in Japan 10 years ago.

    Midfield powerhouse Esther Onyenezide, with three goals in the tournament, is expected to again be the driving force of the Nigeria game going forward, with pacy Flourish Sabastine and Blessing Okpe likely to start as the Falconets seek early goals, while workhorse Mercy Idoko and the duo of Deborah Abiodun and Bashirat Amoo would hold things tight in the middle.

    Goalkeeper Omini Oyono is expected to be at her best as she is protected by captain Oluwatosin Demehin, Jumoke Alani, Omowumi Oshobukola, and Rofiat Imuran.

  • Falconets set perfect group stage record after edging Canada 3-1

    Falconets set perfect group stage record after edging Canada 3-1

    The Nigeria team on Wednesday at the ongoing 10th FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica advanced to the quarter-finals in grand style.

    The Falconets qualified by setting a World Cup group stage perfect record for themselves after beating Canada 3-1 in Alajuela.

    The feat enabled them to finish with a perfect nine points out of nine in Group C. In spite of hard-fought victories over France and Korea Republic, the Nigerian side were favourites to win the match even though they had already secured a final eight place.

    They did concede their first goal of the competition in the match, but they never looked back after drawing level thereafter.

    Goalkeeper Omini Oyono’s poor management of a backpass from Jumoke Alani granted Kala Novak a fortuitous goal in less than two minutes after kick-off.

    “It was great for us to come back from that setback, and also conceding first in the tournament.

    “But we showed character and spirit after that, and that would be huge for us going forward in the competition,” team head coach Christopher Danjuma said after the match.

    Esther Onyenezide, whose vicious curling shot earned all three points against Korea Republic late on, to send the Falconets into the last eight Sunday, soon drew them level.

    She scored from the penalty kick spot in the 24th minute after Canadian defender Mia Pante had handled the ball from a Blessing Okpe shot in the penalty box.

    The Falconets did look composed and surefooted in the middle with the return of Deborah Abiodun, who sat out the encounter with the Koreans.

    Chiamaka Okwuchukwu also played an inspiring game after starting for the first time in the tournament.

    Her firm header from an Okpe cross in the 15th minute had missed narrowly.

    Onyenezide however went on to shoot Nigeria ahead, also from the penalty kick spot, in the 32ndminute.

    This was after Simi Awujo’s dangerous play against Mercy Idoko was penalised, when Idoko went for a header from Rofiat Imuran’s inswinger.

    In the added time of first period, Idoko came close to scoring her first goal of the tournament, but her touch from another Imuran inswinger brushed the upright.

    In the second half, the Falconets added pace and brilliant use of space to their game.

    It was no surprise then when Imuran, again with a visionary cross, set up substitute Chioma Olise for Nigeria’s third goal.

    Their imperial campaign in the group stage earns the Falconets a quarter-final date with The Netherlands in Alajuela on Sunday.