Coach Randy Waldrum has expressed his concerns about the upcoming match between the Super Falcons of Nigeria and Australia.
Despite Australia missing three key players due to injuries, Waldrum remains cautious and urges his team not to underestimate their opponents.
The absence of Samantha Kerr, Mary Fowler, and Aivi Luik might seem like an advantage for Nigeria, but Coach Waldrum emphasizes that Australia still possesses a strong squad with other talented players who can pose a threat.
He knows many of the Australian players well from his time coaching in the NWSL, and he understands the quality they bring to the game.
“Well, we never like to see players injured and I know how devastating that is, missing matches in the World Cup,’ Waldrum told the media in a pre-match presser.
“But I don’t think it really changes our tactics and what we’re trying to do – they obviously still have a lot of weapons that can hurt you.
“I know a lot of their players really well from playing back in the NWSL when I was coaching in the pro league and I know the quality of those players so we can’t go into the match thinking we’re at some advantage for that reason,” he said.
Waldrum acknowledges the need for a more clinical approach in the upcoming match, considering that the Super Falcons had a lackluster performance in their previous game, with only one shot on target out of 10 attempts and failing to score a goal.
He stresses the importance of getting results and points in such a high-level competition like the World Cup.
“At this level, it’s all about getting results and getting points out of it.
“Maybe I would worry more if we weren’t creating opportunities at all but we have been.
“It’s a very, very difficult group. So you’re not going to be putting in four or five goals a game in this kind of group.
‘So I’m not worried about that. We have quality in the team, we have players that can score goals and we just have to make sure when those opportunities come that we’re clinical.”
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