Super Falcons captain, Rita Chikwelu has acknowledged that Nigeria faces a tough test of character in their bid to defend the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) title, but the Kristianstad central midfielder is confident that she and her team-mates have what it takes perform at the tournament in Ghana.
The tourney will also serve as qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, reports Sports247.ng.
Top three teams will represent Africa at the Mundial.
“I’m sure everywhere in Nigeria people are talking about the competition in Ghana. It’s a huge competition for us,” Chikwelu admitted in a chat with Sports247.ng.
“A lot is expected of us. But we have been feeling relaxed. The bottom line is we have to beat qualify for the World Cup and try to retain the title we won two years ago.”
“We have our confidence and the ladies are really looking forward to this one. We have to improve, because we cannot afford to make the mistakes in the tournament. I think we are ready to perform in Ghana.”
The Falcons will spend eight days at a training camp in Abidjan to perfect tactics and strategy for the defence of their continental title before arriving in Ghana for the 11th AWCON finals.
Coach Thomas Dennerby on Monday unveiled a list of 23 players who made the trip to the world-renowned ASEC Mimosas FC academy, Sol Beni, before two players are cut for a final squad of 21 for the trip to Cape Coast.
The eight-time African champions will play a couple of friendly games in the Sol Beni camp before flying to Ghana on 14th November, four days to their Group B opening encounter against South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.
Nigeria will also tackle Zambia and Kenya in their pool, as they bid for a ninth continental title out of 11 championships.
