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Oshoala, Plumptre lead Super Falcons withdrawals ahead of Comoros clash
Oshoala, Plumptre lead Super Falcons withdrawals ahead of Comoros clash
Asisat Oshoala and Ashleigh Plumptre have withdrawn from Nigeria’s squad for the 2028 Olympic qualifiers against Comoros.
The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, confirmed that Plumptre asked to be excused from the team because of a ligament injury.
Oshoala, a six time African Player of the Year, also requested to be excused from the squad. However, the NFF did not give a reason for her withdrawal.
Benfica defender Oluwatosin Demehin and forward Flourish Sabastine will also miss the matches because of residency permit issues in Portugal.
Interim Super Falcons coach Austin Eguavoen has also released Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Favour Nkwocha to join Nigeria’s Under 17 women’s team ahead of the FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The latest withdrawals have forced Eguavoen to make changes to his squad ahead of the first leg against Comoros on Friday.
MK Dons Women captain Favour Omenazu and Belarus based forward Blessing Okpe have been called up as replacements.
Omenazu now has an opportunity to make her senior international debut, while Okpe returns to the national team after a good run of form in Belarus.
The 22 year old former Rivers Angels player joined Dnepr Mogilev from Dinamo Minsk in April and has been among her club’s leading scorers this season. She previously represented Nigeria at the 2022 FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria will face Comoros at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne on Friday, October 9. The return leg will also be played at the same venue on Tuesday, October 13, because Comoros does not have a stadium approved by the Confederation of African Football, CAF, for international matches.
The Super Falcons received a bye into the second round of the Olympic qualifiers because they were among Africa’s three highest ranked teams.
Comoros reached the second round after defeating Sudan 30 0 on aggregate in the opening round.
Eguavoen has also made changes to his technical team. Dr Terry Eguaoje, the NFF’s head of coaching education, has joined the team as an assistant coach.
Christopher Danjuma and former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf will also assist Eguavoen, while Olatunji Baruwa remains the goalkeeper coach.
Brenda Shima has also replaced MaryCathryn Akinsola as the team’s media officer.
Nigeria are seeking to qualify for successive Olympic Games after returning to the competition at Paris 2024 following a 16 year absence.
Africa has two qualification places for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. A win over Comoros would take Nigeria into the third round, where to buy 6hggè could face either Morocco or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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