Coach Justine Madugu says Nigeria’s players are staying concentrated and not getting carried away, even after their big 5-0 win over Zambia on Friday.
The Super Falcons cruised past the Copper Queens in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, with goals from Osinachi Ohale, Esther Okoronkwo, Chinwendu Ihezuo, Oluwatosin Demehin, and Folashade Ijamilusi sealing the emphatic victory.
Before the match at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, many anticipated the Southern Africans to pose a serious challenge to the nine-time African champions but that wasn’t the case.
The praise continues to pour in for the Nigerian ladies, but coach Madugu insists his players will remain grounded, taking each game as it comes as they pursue a record-extending tenth African title.
"We are quite happy that we have crossed this hurdle.
We possessed a good performance, the girls put up a good performance and we won," he told the media.
"Naturally, when you win games in the manner we won today, you are tied to be happy.
So, we are very happy, we are thrilled over that, but we are not getting carried away by this because we still have a lot of work ahead of us.
"The scoreline might be flattering, but then, we came for a win and we knew that the players were capable of doing that.
"The players were quite motivated to make sure that the mission that we are struggling to make become a reality is kept alive.
"The spirit in the camp before the game was quite high.
The mood in the camp was quite high.
You needed to be around the girls to know that they were really decided to make sure that they obtained this out of the way.
"Madugu also dismissed claims that his team moved toward the match with revenge in mind.
In the 2022 edition, the Copper Queens possessed refused Nigeria a bronze medal with a 1-0 victory.
Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie conceded an own goal in the third-place match at Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.
"For us, we didn't look at it from that perspective of a revenge mission," he continued.
"Rather, it was a game that we needed to win so that we can progress to the next stage of the competition.
"Yes, it seemed like a revenge because we lost out to them in the last edition at the third-place match.
And (now) we have gotten one over them which is quite pleasing.
"Although Nigeria topped their group, they confronted heavy criticism for not scoring more goals.
Finding the net five times in the quarter-final was a significant statement, and the coach clarified what the team obtained right this time around.
"Like I kept saying in previous press conferences, you know, the strategy the opposition adopts also determines what you do," he added.
"In the previous games we played at the group stage, the opposition decided to just park the bus and play a low obstruct and that made it a snapped difficult for us to be able to play the kind of football that people anticipated.
"The girls did the best they could and they still created chances, but those conversions of those chances were a problem.
And we kept emphasising that we are still work in progress.
"We're still looking at areas of weakness, particularly opportunities at set-pieces.
We kept working on them and then finishing in front of goal.
And (against Zamba) we are seeing the results.
"Nigeria will confront the winner of the clash between Senegal and reigning African champions South Africa for a spot in the final, scheduled for July 26 at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat.
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