coach Randy Waldrum believes the 11-time African champions should rank among the best countries in women’s football, following their performance at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Nigeria were knocked out of the competition 4-2 on penalties by England in the round of 16 on Monday after regulation and extra time ended goalless.

The Falcons were also the least ranked team in their group and qualified at the expense of Olympic champions Canada, who are currently ranked seventh in the world. They beat co-hosts Australia, who are 10th 3-2, before being forced to a goalless draw by No. 22 placed Ireland in their last group game. England, who beat the Falcons in the last 16, are the fourth ranked team in the world.

Despite being eliminated, Waldrum, who has constantly hailed his players character, was left impressed by his team, who are currently ranked 40th in the world, for defying the odds at the tournament.

We can be and should be probably one of the top teams in the world by going from 40 on the FIFA rankings to a better number. I think we have also shown we are capable of playing against anybody. What you saw was England having a little more experience in playing these kinds of matches, being able to play with a man down and managing the game. Maybe that’s where we fell short,” Waldrum said after the game.

The American coach also saluted his England counterpart, Sarina Wiegman, noting that the Falcons only needed luck to advance to the quarter-final.

“Hats off to Sarina and her team, I don’t know what they thought we would do but we anticipated that they thought we would sit back like we did in the first two or three matches, and we really pressed them well, Halimatu (Ayinde) was fantastic against (Lauren) James. I don’t think we allowed them to get into the rhythm.

“The tactics was spot on, the performance was good, with a little bit of luck, we would have walked away with the result in our advantage,” he
added.

Nigerian football fans have asked the Nigeria Football Federation to retain Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum regardless of the American’s reported soured relationship with the federation, after he led the team to the round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The Falcons bowed out of the tournament on Monday, losing 4-2 on penalties against 10-woman England after playing out a goalless draw in 120 minutes in Brisbane. He also expressed his interest to stay with the Falcons after the game.

 “I am proud of my team. I want to stay with this team and continue working towards the Olympics. But that is not a matter for me to decide,” Waldrum said during his post-match interview.

Waldrum was appointed as Falcons coach in 2020 and led the team to the 2022 Women’s African Cup of Nations and the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

After three years in charge, his relationship with his employers became frosty during preparations for the Women’s World Cup, with the coach reportedly denied his preferred assistant to the Mundial.

The American, who was only paid just seven months of his 14 months unpaid salary on the eve of the trip to Australia, questioned the federation over the $960,000 World Cup handed the federation by FIFA.

NFF spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, lashed out at the coach over the selection of players for the World Cup, labelling him an “incompetent loudmouth.”

But Waldrum have silenced critics and the NFF at the World Cup, qualifying from a tough group which has co-hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada and Ireland.

After their ouster against England, the team received plaudits for their heroics at the tournament, with many fans backing Waldrum to keep his job.

“They should be humble and renew his contract, (he) defeated the hosts, held the Olympic and European champions to a draw, never lost a match over 90 minutes. The coach is tactically aware, sentiments apart,” a fan, Gbenga Olukunle, wrote on Twitter.

Journalist, Amos Joseph, also said, “NFF should be humble and renew if he wants to stay.”

Another fan, Yusuf Atolagbe, backed the American coach to keep his job with the NFF.

“We all want him gone before the tournament but after this tournament, we should not throwaway what he has done with the team. NFF should settle their differences with him and give him two years contract please.”

After leading the team to a fourth-place finish at the 2022 WAFCON in Morocco, Waldrum was criticised by many fans but has now won their hearts again with the team’s performance at the World Cup.

D’Tigress forward Amy Okonkwo feels honoured after being named the Most Valuable Player of the just-concluded 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, The PUNCH reports.

Okonkwo played a huge role in helping Nigeria clinch the Women’s AfroBasket title after beating Senegal 84-74 in the final on Saturday in Kigali, Rwanda.

The victory means Nigeria became the second team to win four FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles in a row.

Okonkwo headlined the All-Star Tournament team alongside Cierra Dillard (Senegal), Jannon Otto (Uganda), Sika Kone (Mali) and Tamara Seda (Mozambique).

Throughout Nigeria’s unbeaten run (5-0) in the Rwandan capital Kigali, Okonkwo emerged as the heart and soul of D’Tigress, averaging a team-high of 17.2 points while contributing 8.2 rebounds per game.

Along the way, she became the only Nigerian to register two double-doubles (Murjanatu Musa registered one).

Reacting to her MVP awards, the 26-year-old said, “We have a coach that believes in us. It has us fighting till the end, even in adversity.

“So, we knew we had our destiny in our hands. Even when Senegal came back, we knew we had to step up, to keep together and we made it happen. I was playing in Mexico this summer, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to come and lead. And I had the opportunity to lead the team.

“I told myself that I was not coming to Kigali to lose anything. And being MVP is a huge honour.”

Nigeria’s success also meant Rena Wakama became the first female head coach to win a Women’s AfroBasket title.

“Against Mozambique, we were down by 10 or 12 points. I looked into their eyes, and they told me: “Coach, we’re not going to lose this game..”.. And they came back to win,” the coach said.

“That was the defining moment for me. It has been a long year for me. I asked God for a sign, and this trophy was the biggest of them all.”

D’Tigress’ sixth continental title comes exactly 20 years after their very first African conquest in 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique.