Delta Queen’s head coach, Tosan Blankson has given his candid assessment of Super Falcons’ outing in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup after the ladies suffered a narrow defeat to England today.
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After a valiant group stage show where they went unbeaten, they won Australia who is the co-host to book a round-16 tie with the Lionesses, amassing five (5) points in three games to emerge second in Group B behind the Aussies.
In an evenly contested full-time encounter that saw both sides failing to find the back of the net, it went on extra time before the last eight (8) spot was decided by penalties which England won to set up a tie with either of Colombia or Jamaica.
Reminiscing on the group stage performance, Tosan Blankson whose side won the NWFL unbeaten in an exclusive interview with Sports247.ng applauded their bravery to put up such a fight.
“Their performance during the group stage and the last 16 wasn’t a bad one. They never lost any match in regulation time throughout the competition but the greatest undoing the coach did to himself and the team was underrating the team before the start of the World Cup.”
“The selection wasn’t a bad one, he tried in assembling the team but the team lacked a ball distributor in the middle of the pack, he stated.
“I bet you Flourish Sebastian would have been a big plus to the team in the attack as we also lacked individual brilliance in the attack.”
Commenting on the bonus uproar – “To me, the bonus issue was blown out of proportion by certain individuals that never meant well for the team. Were the girls complaining?, NO”
Looking at how effective Randy Waldrum’s tactics were – “I am not the coach, I don’t know the abilities of the players he took along with him, so I cannot judge his tactics. The players you have at your disposal determine the tactics you play.”
“We have excellent players in the team. Players like the left back, Ohale, the goalkeeper, Alozie, Ajibade just to mention a few, they were all outstanding in the tournament,” Tosan Blankson admitted.
On what should be the focus after the WWC exit – “There’s a bright future for the team. The buck of the players should be retained, if possible give the coach another opportunity with an instruction to focus more on the NWFL, we have young and hungry talented players that are ready to showcase their talents to the world.”
Advising in his conclusion on what needs to be in focus going forward – “Preparation is key to sports. If you fail to plan, you will plan to fail.”
