Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum boasted his team could have defeated Ivory Coast 3-0 after they beat Ivory Coast 1-0 to seal qualification for the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The Falcons defeated the Lady Elephants 3-0 on aggregate at the Stade Robert Champroux in Abidjan on Wednesday, having won the first leg 2-0 in Abuja on Friday.
Goalkeeper ChiamakaNnadozie saved a penalty in the 34th minute before a late strike from Esther Okoronkwo in the 87th minute ensured the nine-time African champions picked one of the tickets for the WAFCON in Morocco later this year.
At the post-match conference, Waldrum said the Falcons played a good game and could have scored more than one goal in Abidjan.
“I don’t think Ivory Coast caused us that much trouble because if you go back to the game I don’t think our goalkeeper got a much handle of the ball. And we kept getting better and better and we could have won by three goals,” the American said.
“We knew Ivory Coast had got a quality team and because we won at home just put us in a better position for this game. We have enough respect for them and we understand that they could have scored two goals at home too, I would say both legs were very important for us.
“It was a very difficult two matches; we got two clean sheets, two wins and three goals. I am very pleased with the players.”