Super Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum, is braced for his side’s clash against co-hosts Australia in their second Group B game at the 52,250 capacity Lang Park stadium in Brisbane

This comes after Waldrum’s team picked a point on his World Cup debut at the tournament last Friday, while the Matildas recorded a nervy 1-0 win over Ireland a day earlier.

The nine-time African champions forced Canada to a goalless draw at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium with stand-in captain, Chiamaka Nnadozie, the heroine making several saves, including stopping Christine Sinclair’s penalty.

Speaking with PUNCH Sports Extra ahead of their clash against the Aussies, Waldrum said playing against the co-hosts and their fans was a challenge he was looking up to.

“I always love a challenge so, I’m looking forward to the game,” Waldrum told PUNCH Sports Extra.

“It won’t get easier with Australia as they have a great team, speed and very good in transition both ways.”

Waldrum admits getting a point off the Canadians Friday wasn’t an easy task

“It was a difficult match (versus Canada) but the players were good in following the game plan for most of the part.

“We have to try to improve our performance but overall I’m pleased with the way the team played and the way we thought we had to play to get a result. I’m pleased and they did perform well in that regard.

Australia will be without star striker Sam Kerr, who has a calf injury. Her absence will be a major boost to the Falcons’ chances.

“It happens in football, unfortunately,” Waldrum said of Kerr’s injury.

“It’s part of the game but they’re still a really good side.

“I watched their performance against Ireland, they’re dangerous with so many different weapons.

“We can’t go into it thinking the game is already won because they don’t have a star player. Our players understand that.”

As the summer transfer window continues to heat up, ABIODUN ADEWALE takes a look at the biggest names that have made the most interesting moves so far in this summer break

Jude Bellingham (Dortmund to Real Madrid) – £105m

The race to get the signature of Jude Bellingham began even before the end of last season between Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid.  Madrid eventually captured the England international in June on a six-year contract. He was handed the jersey No. 5 which was previously worn by French legend and former Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane.  Bellingham’s youth club, Birmingham City received around £6 million from the transfer due to their sell-on clause.

Declan Rice – (West Ham to Arsenal, £105m)

Arsenal smashed their transfer record to complete the signing of midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham.  Rice signing is considered a major piece of the jigsaw for the Gunners ahead of next season when they will return to the Champions League and also aim for the EPL again.  The 24-year-old may also become the most expensive British player in Premier League history, eclipsing the £100m Manchester City paid to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa two years ago.

Lionel Messi (PSG to Inter Miami)

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2022 World Cup winner, Lionel Messi, scored his first goal for Inter Miami with a free kick in their 2-1 win over Cruz Azul. Before Messi’s debut, they had gone 11 games without a win.

David Beckham also revealed that Messi’s unveiling has become the most watched in football history with a staggering 3.5 billion views, ahead of the 3 billion views generated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s unveiling at Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. Messi joined Inter Miami from PSG and since then, interest in both the league and the new club have gone up significantly. MLS ticket prices have skyrocketed in comparison to a minimum of more than $300 and Inter Miami’s followers on Instagram have gone up six-fold, from one to six million followers.

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid to Al Ittihad)

Even at 35, Karim Benzema is one of the biggest players to join the Saudi league this summer after joining Al Ittihad in a deal worth £214m a year.

Benzema made the switch after 14 years at Real Madrid where he crowned his long list of silverware for the club with the Balloon d’Or last year.

Kai Havertz – (Chelsea to Man United, £65m)

Even if Chelsea were offloading, Arsenal paid £65m to sign Kai Havertz on an unspecified long-term contract as the Blues also recouped a substantial amount from the £75m they paid Bayern Leverkusen for his services in 2020.  Havertz is expected to form a major part of Mikel Arteta’s attack while the Gunners have also added new names to their defense and midfield.

 Mason Mount (Chelsea to Man United, £55m)

Another major offload from Stamford Bridge but still with a heavy price as Eric Ten Hag ensured the Englishman joins his squad rebuild on a five-year deal.

The overall fee for England international midfielder Mount could rise to £60m depending on success and appearances over several seasons.

Dominik Szobozlai – (Leipzig to Liverpool, £60m)

Dominik Szoboslai, another reinforcement for Liverpool’s midfield arrived from RB Leipzig in a £60m deal for five years.

The 22-year-old Hungary international arrived Anfield after an excellent season in which he scored six goals and made eight assists in the Bundesliga.

Christopher Nkunku (Leipzig to Chelsea, £52)

Plotted since January, Christopher Nknunku is officially a Chelsea player and is already up and running in the pre-season.

The Blues paid the France international’s £52m release clause to RB Leipzig where the striker contributed 16 goals and six assists in 25 league games last season.

Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton to Liverpool, £35m)

2022 World Cup winner and revelation, Alexis Mac Allister became Liverpool’s first part of their summer midfield rebuild for just £35m but apparently with big roles to play as the club intends to reclaim a Champions League spot next season.  The 24-year-old Argentina World Cup winner signed a five-year contract.

Mateo Kovacic – (Chelsea to Man City,£25m)

One of the least expected moves but Manchester City signed Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea for an initial £25m.

The deal for the 29-year-old is also worth a possible £5m in add-ons and signed a four-year contract. Kovacic became City’s first signing of the summer after they won the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup titles last season. He’s been touted to replace Ilkay Gundogan who joined Barcelona.

Ilkay Gundogan (Man City to Barcelona, Free)

After winning everything with Manchester City, Ilkay Gundogan joined Barcelona on a free transfer but the Catalans on their recent characteristics have injected a €400m release clause into the 32-year-old’s contract.

Gundogan joins Barca, who won their first league title since 2019 this past season, to add depth and goals to midfield after they missed out on Lionel Messi, who has opted to join Inter Miami.

Twelve months after the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, the Nigeria Football Federation has paid Super Falcons trio Ifeoma Onumonu, Michelle Alozie and Nicole Payne their outstanding WAFCON bonuses, SUNDAY PUNCH has reliably gathered.

The nine-time African champions had boycotted training in the North African country in July 2022 to protest their unpaid allowances just before their WAFCON third-place clash against Zambia in Casablanca.

Nigeria were the three-time defending champions, having won the previous three editions in 2014, 2016 and 2018 but had its quest for a fourth consecutive title and a 10th overall dashed in the semi-finals of the competition after losing to hosts Morocco on penalties.

An NFF official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the delayed payment was because the players’ accounts did not have the compulsory Bank Verification Number linked with their National Identity Number.

It was also learnt that while Onumonu was paid her outstanding bonus of $9,500 last week, duo Alozie and Nicole Payne, who missed out of the trip to the World Cup, were paid on Saturday.

Our correspondent gathered that only Toni Payne is yet to receive her outstanding $9,500 as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, at the ongoing Women’s World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, the Falcons kicked off their campaign with a goalless draw against Canada at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium Friday.

Captain Chiamaka Nnadozie saved a penalty in the 50th minute to deny Canada skipper Christine Sinclair a chance to become the first player to score in six World Cups in the encounter.

Both teams have a point each, trailing Group B leaders Australia by two, following the co-hosts’ 1-0 win over Ireland Thursday.

The Falcons will face the Aussies in their next Group B game on Thursday at the Brisbane Stadium.

Italian giants, AC Milan, are expected to announce the signing of Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze next week after reaching an agreement with La Liga side Villarreal.

The 24-year-old is expected to sign a four-year deal with the Italians valid until the end of the 2026/27 season. Chukwueze had already agreed personal terms with the Rossoneri.

According to Gazzetta’s report, the Rossoneri have agreed to pay a total package of €28m for Chukwueze, made up of €20m upfront and €8m in bonuses.

To confirm the validity of the report, the Nigeria international was dropped by the Yellow Submarine for their friendly against German side Hannover on Saturday despite no reports of injuries. According to reports, the 24-year-old is expected to undergo his medicals as early as Monday next week.

AC Milan manager, Stephano Pioli, has revealed to the Nigerian about the project he is building in Milan, especially with young talents such as Rafael Leao and the recent acquisition of Noah Okafor. Chukwueze is said to be Pioli’s top target for the right-wing position.

Respected football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano in a tweet on Saturday confirmed that the deal is expected to be completed next week and the players announced it to the public.

“Samuel Chukwueze was not even called up for Villarreal friendly game vs Hannover. He’s on the verge of joining AC Milan as the deal will be completed next week,” the respected Italian football journalist tweeted.

At present, Chukwueze has just one year left on his contract with Villarreal.

Up to this point in the summer, Milan has made several acquisitions, including Marco Sportiello, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luka Romero, Christian Pulisic, and Tijjani Reijnders. Additionally, they have Noah Okafor ready for a medical examination, which makes Chukwueze the potential seventh signing for the team this summer.

Super Falcons will be able to call on the services of key players Rasheedat Ajibade and Halimatu Ayinde for their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup group B game against co-hosts Australia next Thursday.

The 11-time African champions secured a draw in their opening game against Olympic champions Canada at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium which Ajibade and Ayinde missed through suspension.

The duo were shown straight red cards at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco during the semi-final against Morocco, which ended in a 5-4 loss on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes.

Ayinde was the first to get marching orders in the 48th minute followed by Ajibade’s expulsion, 26 minutes into the second half.

Both players had only served a game ban before the World Cup, missing the third-place game against Zambia in the WAFCON and have now missed the second on Friday.

They will be both available for Randy Waldrum’s selection when Nigeria face Australia for their second Group B match on July 27.

Ajibade has said that the team are now focused on getting maximum points in their remaining group stage matches.

“Well done by the team to earn a point in the tough match against Canada yesterday. We remain focused on the matches ahead and will be fighting for maximum points in the subsequent matches,” she wrote on her Twitter handle.

The Super Falcons and Canada are joint second in Group B with one point, while Australia occupy first position in the group with three points after their win against Ireland.

Nigeria will square up to the Aussies at the Lang Park Stadium on Thursday (11am Nigeria time). Their final group game is against the Republic of Ireland four days later at the same venue.

Nnadozie said her save was more of self-belief than knowledge about Christine Sinclair’s methods.

Chiamaka Nnadozie, the Super Falcons’ temporary captain, won the Player of the Match award in the goalless draw against Canada in the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Though the game did not produce many chances or goals, the Group B clash at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium had some notable moments.

One of the shining lights in that encounter between nine-time African champions Nigeria and reigning Olympic champions Canada was Nnadozie, who saved a penalty kick one minute into the second half.

Speaking to journalists in Australia after the game, the 22-year-old Paris FC goalkeeper said her save resulted from self-belief than any calculated understanding of Christine Sinclair’s penalty-taking methods.

She said, “I never watched her play penalties. I just believed in myself. She scored against me the last time we played. Right now, it’s 1-1 between me and Sinclair!” Nnadozie declared.

Apart from stopping Sinclair’s penalty, Nnadozie made a handful of other saves that ensured the Super Falcons earned a crucial point ahead of their second group game against co-hosts Australia.

While praising Nnadozie for her essential contribution to Nigeria’s first World Cup point, Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum reiterated that she is one of the best young goalkeepers in the world.

After doing well against Canada, the Super Falcons will look to get going against Australia next Thursday to improve their chances of making it out of the group stage.

Thursday’s tie is scheduled for Brisbane Stadium at 11 a.m.

Australia are top of Group B after their one-goal victory over debutants Ireland.