TheNewsGuru

Tag: Morocco

  • What Ashleigh Plumptre said after playing first major competition for Nigeria

    What Ashleigh Plumptre said after playing first major competition for Nigeria

    After participating in the 2022 Women African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with Nigeria’s senior women team, the Super Falcons, former England youth international, Ashleigh Plumptre has said she was proud to play in the competition.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Plumptre started for Nigeria for the first time on Friday, February 18, against the Côte d’Ivoire women’s national team at the MKO Stadium in Abuja after switching her interest to represent Nigeria.

    Born in Leicester, England on May 8, 1998, to English parents, Plumptre traces her Nigerian roots to her grandfather, a Yoruba man. She had played for England’s U-15, U-17, U-19, and U-23 teams but publicly declared her interest in playing for Nigeria in 2021.

    The 2022 WAFCON is the first major competition Plumptre will play for Nigeria, an experience she has said there were lessons learnt.

    “Proud to have batted alongside a resilient and determined group of women for 5 weeks at my first senior major tournament. Thank you for the lessons learnt, experiences had and the opportunity to represent way more than just myself. Morocco, thank you,” she tweeted after the 2022 WAFCON.

  • 2022 WAFCON: South Africa win their first-ever WAFCON title

    2022 WAFCON: South Africa win their first-ever WAFCON title

    South Africa’s Banyana Banyana on Saturday defeated hosts Atlas Lionesses of Morocco 2-1 in the final match of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Rabat.

    The win helped them to their first title success in the tournament’s history, after Hildah Magaia scored twice within eight minutes in the second half after the hour mark.

    This ended a run of five finals without success for Banyana Banyana, who completed this tournament with a 100 per cent record.

    This was after they secured qualification to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand.

    Magaia tapped in an excellent cutback from Jermaine Seoposenwe, who ran onto a long ball out of defence.

    It helped her to create the opening goal as she held off the defence to provide an expert pass in the 63rd minute.

    It took the sting out of a frenzied atmosphere created by a sell-out crowd at the Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium.

    This was the venue where only weeks earlier South Africa’s men had lost to Morocco in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.

    Magaia then doubled the lead in the 71st minute with another close finish, this time from a cross out wide from Karabo Dhlamini which Morocco’s defence failed to cut out.

    But a lapse in concentration saw South Africa lose possession.

    It offered Morocco hope of a comeback as Rosella Ayane pulled one back in the 80th minute after being set up by Fatima Tagnaout.

    This meant an anxious last 10 minutes for Desiree Ellis’ team —- plus another nine minutes of referee’s time added on —- before they could get their hands on the trophy.

    The game started with a high tempo, fueled by the large crowd who greeted every Moroccan touch with a cheer and Banyana move with a chorus of whistles.

    After 11 minutes, there was a muted shout for a penalty kick, but while Tagnaout’s challenge on Magaia in her own penalty area was risky, it proved expertly timed.

    Both sides pressed high to allow little space for chances and, as a result, the first 30 minutes went by without any goalscoring opportunity.

    South Africa had a chance with a long-range free-kick in the 32nd minute which  Nomvula Kgoale hit onto the roof of the net.

    Three minutes later Seoposenwe played through an inch-perfect pass for Magaia, but her left-footed effort was blocked by a brave save by home goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi.

    Magaia had another chance with a free-kick five minutes before the break.

    But she was unable to properly bend the ball and was well off target with what looked like a good opportunity.

    Morocco had their first real effort a minute later for tall English-born striker Ayane, who tried to rag the ball from behind her and was unable to find the target.

    The second half was a close affair until Magaia opened scoring, suddenly offering the occasion a rip-roaring finale.

  • WAFCON: Nigeria/Morocco clash set new Africa’s match attendance record

    WAFCON: Nigeria/Morocco clash set new Africa’s match attendance record

    A new Africa match attendance record has been set at the semi-finals of the ongoing 2022 Women African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

    A total of 45, 562 spectators witnessed the host Atlas Lionesses of Morocco pip holders Super Falcons of Nigeria to qualify for their first WAFCON finals appearance.

    The game at the Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca on Monday, wasn’t short of drama as nine-time champions Nigeria played most parts of the game with nine players.

    Halimatu Ayinde was sent off in the 48th minute as Falcons opened scoring in the 14th minute, but an equaliser from Morocco followed four minutes after.

    Rasheedat Ajibade was also sent to the stands in the 70th minute, leaving Nigeria with nine players who had to stay solid in defence to finish regulation and extra time on the same scoreline.

    The hosts, however, won 5-4 on penalties to set up a final clash against South Africa on Saturday.

    The Falcons’ loss, however, did not stop Nigeria from joining Morocco, South Africa and Zambia in qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

  • Morocco defeat nine-woman Super Falcons on penalties in Rabat

    Morocco defeat nine-woman Super Falcons on penalties in Rabat

    Nigeria withstood several adversities before narrowly losing to host nation Morocco after a penalty shoot-out, in a supercharged 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match in Rabat on Monday.

    A total of 45,562 spectators turned the Complexe Prince Moulay Abdellah into a boiling cauldron, and only their experience, guts, grit, and determination kept the nine-time African champions firmly in the game as their every move was booed while the Lionesses were roared on the moment they had the ball.

    The Lionesses, who last played at the Women AFCON 22 years ago, before the current finals that they are hosting, started like a house on fire and pegged the Falcons to the rear in the early minutes. But gangling Ifeoma Onumonu should have given Nigeria the lead in the 13th minute when she was brilliantly set up by Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene.

    Three minutes later, Okobi again showed good anticipation to truncate the Moroccan surge and set up Onumonu, but the forward again failed to make hay.

    In the 34th minute, Okobi deftly intercepted again at the edge of the box, but her effort screamed away from the goal.

    Admittedly, the Lionesses were comfortable on the ball with excellent control and crisp passes, with captain Ghizlane Chebbak, Sanaa Mssoudy, and the precocious Fatima Tagnaout threatening the Nigeria goal now and again as they weaved swiftly about the pitch.

    Three minutes into the second half, Mauritian referee Maria Rivet stopped play for a VAR check, only to return and hand a red card to midfielder Halimat Ayinde. The decision shocked the Super Falcons, who had been challenged by lasers focused on their eyes by spectators, but they refused to cave into onslaught after an onslaught by Mssoudy, Tagnaout, Yasmin Mrabet, and Rosella Ayane.

    In the 52nd minute, captain Onome Ebi saved on the line with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie stranded, and it was the turn of Ashleigh Plumptre to do the same two minutes later as Ebi crashed into Nnadozie in yet another invasion by the Lionesses.

    In the 55th minute, Rasheedat Ajibade’s pull-out was plucked by goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi, but seven minutes later, Nigeria were ahead after Ajibade twisted, turned, and crossed for Ifeaoma Onumonu to powerfully head against the upright. The melee saw Yasmin Mrabet flick the ball into her net.

    Morocco were level only four minutes after when Nnadozie failed to deal with a cross by the ubiquitous Tagnaout and Mssoudy gratefully slammed into the net.

    In the 71st minute, Rivet again stopped play for a VAR check, and this time handed Rasheedat Ajibade a red card, reducing the Falcons to nine women.

    Nnadozie made a dozen saves towards the end and in the ensuing extra time, with the Lionesses all over the place, but Nigeria could have won it when Gift Monday beat the hosts’ defense on the counter and crashed a well-measured shot against the crossbar, only for the ball to roll out.

    In the penalty shootout, forward Ifeoma Onumonu missed for Nigeria as Rita Chikwelu, Regina Otu, Ashleigh Plumptre, and Gift Monday scored. Morocco scored all their kicks, through Yasmin Mrabet, Ghizlane Chebbak, Zineb Redouane, Nesryne El Chad, and Rosella Ayane.

    Morocco will take on South Africa (1-0 winners over Zambia in the first semi-final) in Saturday’s final in Rabat, while the Super Falcons tango with the Copper Queens of Zambia for the bronze medals in Casablanca on Friday.

  • WAFCON: Super Falcons ready to win 10th title – Ogbonna

    WAFCON: Super Falcons ready to win 10th title – Ogbonna

    Super Falcons defender, Glory Ogbonna, said the team is working  hard to win their 10th Women Africa Cup of Nations  (WAFCON) trophy holding in Morocco, to remain the dominant team on the continent.

    Ogbonna made this development known  on Friday from the team’s base in Casablanca, Morocco however, said they also targeted at winning the world Cup in Australia with their qualification on Thursday.

    The solid defender stressed that the 1-0 victory over Cameroon in the quater-final was a difficult game for the ladies, adding that Super Falcons was adequately prepared for the semi-final clash against host Morocco.

    She said it was very difficult because the Cameroonians wanted the WorldCup ticket too.

    “Like I have previously said, there is no longer small team in Africa and moreover that the Cameroonians are also one of the biggest teams in Africa.

    “We won that game with determination to qualify for the World Cup and also enhance our chances of retaining the Africa Women trophy that we last won.

    “We want to win the trophy for a record 10th time to remain dominant force in Africa Women football.

    “Beyond Africa, we are also looking at winning the Women World Cup,” she stated.

    Ogbonna maintained that while the Falcons respected the host country, they were, however, not loosing any sleep over the semi final match with them.

    “We are very focused in our next match which incidentally is against the host team,” Ogbonna said.

    The defender described the support from Nigerians and their fans as the biggest motivation to the team.

    Glory Akumbu Ogbonna is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a defender for Swedish club Umeå IK and the Nigeria women’s national team. She has formerly played with Edo Queens in the Nigeria Women Football League.

  • CAF Awards: Super falcons’ duo, Oshoala, Gift make final shortlist

    CAF Awards: Super falcons’ duo, Oshoala, Gift make final shortlist

    Confederation of African Football (CAF) has pruned down the list of nominees for the various female categories for the forthcoming CAF Players Awards scheduled to hold In Rabat, Morocco.

    The number of nominees has been cut down to 10 with Nigeria’s Azeezat Oshoala making the 10-woman shortlist.

    Similarly, Super Falcons Monday Gift also made the final shortlist for the young player and inter-club of the year award category.

    Randy Waldrum was listed among 10 coaches considered for the Coach of the Year award.

    The awards will be held on Thursday, 21 July 2022.

    Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, and Mohamed Salah are contenders for the African Player of the Year award(Male Category) after Caf released a final star-studded list of nominees for 2022.

    The winners will be decided by a voting panel that is made up of Caf’s technical committee, media professionals, head coaches, and captains of member associations and clubs involved in the group stage of the inter-club competition for last season.

  • WAFCON 2022: Senegal, Morocco qualify for quarter-final

    WAFCON 2022: Senegal, Morocco qualify for quarter-final

    WAFCON host Morocco and Senegal female national teams have  booked their places  in the quarter-finals of the ongoing  2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

    Morocco defeated Uganda by 3-1 while the Senegal pipped Burkina Faso by 1-0 in Rabat to progress to the quarter -finals of the tournament.

    Both Morocco and Senegal will clash  on Friday to decide who will top  group A.

    Second round of games will be decided in Group B on Wednesday, with leaders Tunisia facing Uganda and Cameroon battling Togo.

    And on Thursday it will be the turn of Group C in the second fixtures with champions Nigeria facing Botswana and South Africa and Burundi tackling each other.

    Super Falcons of Nigeria  are the defending champions and are aiming to retain the title after winning it  9 times in 11 editions.

     

  • Super Eagles players Simon, Amoo make CAF awards shortlist

    Super Eagles  duo, of Moses Simon  of Nantes and Akinkunmi Amoo  of Copenhagen in the Danish Superliga  have been nominated for the CAF Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards respectively.

    CAF released the first list of nominees for the Men’s categories namely Player of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year, and Club of the Year on Thursday.

    Simon has been shortlisted based on his good outing for Nigeria at AFCON 2021 held in Cameroon whilst Amoo stood out for Danish clubside Copenhagen.

    Simon popularly known as daddy amongst his peers  was formerly a Levante player, he  scored six goals and recorded eight assists in 30 league appearances for his present clubside  Nantes of France last season.

    He will battle the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Riyadh Mahrez, and co for the award.

    Amoo  on the other hand made the shortlist in the Young Player category after an impressive campaign for his Danish club, FC Copenhagen last season where the midfield prodigy shone like a million stars.

    The CAF Awards 2022 will be held ahead of the final of the African Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco and has been fixed to take place between 2 July – 23 July.

  • Waldrum picks Ebi, Oshoala, Plumptre, 22 others for Women AFCON

    Head Coach Randy Waldrum has picked Captain Onome Ebi and 24 other players to represent Nigeria at the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco, 2nd – 23rd July.

     The list of the nine-time champions is an interesting mix of the old guard and new blood, with veterans Tochukwu Oluehi, Ebi, Rita Chikwelu, Osinachi Ohale, Francisca Ordega and Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene on board, as well as defenders Ashleigh Plumptre, Nicole Payne and Michelle Alozie, midfielder Regina Otu and forwards Vivian Ikechukwu, Gift Monday and Ifeoma Onumonu.

     Dropped from the contingent that made the camp in Abuja were goalkeeper Rita Akarekor, defenders Chidinma Okeke, Ngozi Emenayo and Opeyemi Sunday, midfielders Suliat Abideen, Amanda Uju Mbadi and Charity Adule, and forward Anam Imo.

     The Super Falcons will confront South Africa’s Banyana Banyana in their first match of the tournament on Monday, 4th July before other games against Botswana (7th July) and Burundi (10th July).

     All four semi finalists at the championship in Morocco will qualify to represent Africa at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

     The Falcons’ contingent will depart Nigeria for Morocco on Monday, 27th June.

  • BREAKING: Super Falcons qualify Nigeria for 2022 AWCON

    BREAKING: Super Falcons qualify Nigeria for 2022 AWCON

    The Super Falcons of Nigeria have qualified for the 2022 African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) scheduled to be held in Morocco in July.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Super Falcons qualified for the 2022 AWCON after beating the Lady Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire 0:1 on Wednesday.

    The Super Falcons beat Cote d’Ivoire through the lone goal scored by Esther Okoronkwo in the 87th minute of the game that was played at Stade Robert Champroux in Abidjan.

    In the 44th minute of play, goalkeeper Nnadozie pulled off a stunning save to deny the Ivorians of any chance of scoring a goal in the fixture.

    TNG reports the Super Falcons had won the first leg of the fixture that was held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja by two goals to nothing.