Nigeria’s senior women national team, Super Falcons, lost 2-0 to the reigning world champions, Japan, in Nagasaki on Sunday.
Goals from Yuki Ogimi and Nahomi Kawasumi sealed victory for the hosts in front of the 15,206 crowd gathered to watch the friendly encounter.
Nigeria got a sight at goal when Esther Sunday hit the crossbar in the first-half, apart, the Japanese dominated play all the way.
Blessing Edoho impressed splendidly during the game with her great speed and excellent footwork.
Though the Falcons’ fighting spirit was commendable, they however failed to match up to the quality of the Japanese.
Meanwhile the coach of the 2013 Federation Cup winners (Nasarawa Amazons) Obi Ogbala has said the loss will spur Nigeria to victory in the second of the two-match friendly billed for Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba on Thursday.
Ogbala claimed Sunday’s loss would afford the six-time African champions, who had only resumed camping two weeks ago, the opportunity to up their game.
“The Falcons are undergoing a rebuilding process after the side were disbanded as a result of poor performance at the African Women’s Championship (AWC) in Equatorial Guinea.
“The 2-0 loss to Japan, though not a good result, is a good omen as it will help the coach and the NFF realise there are lots of work to be done to make the team competitive once again.
“But I see the Falcons comeback strongly on Thursday to win the second match,” he told supersport.com.
