Republic of Ireland defender, Louise Quinn, has questioned the ranking of Super Falcons of Nigeria after being wowed by the performance of the nine times African champions.
Even though the Super Falcons have never missed the Women’s World Cup since its inception, they are ranked as low as 40th in the world in the latest FIFA women’s ranking.
Hence, going into the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the Super Falcons were seeded 4th in Group B which made them open to facing better-ranked teams at the tournament.
Ahead of the World Cup, the Super Falcons were given one of the least chances of winning the tournaments but the Nigerian women have proven their doubters wrong in their last two games as they are currently topping Group B with 4 points in 2 games.
The Falcons draw 0-0 in their opening game against reigning Olympics champions, Canada, who are currently ranked 7th in the world. While in their second game, they beat the co-hosts of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Australia, who are currently ranked 10th in the world.
On July 31, they will face the Republic of Ireland who are ranked 22nd in the world and are yet to grab any point in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Ahead of the match which will kick off at 11 a.m. on Monday, Louise Quinn praised the Nigerian team and wondered why the team was 4th seeded in the tournament’s Group B.
“How they’re even ranked the fourth seed in the group I don’t know because they are an excellent, excellent team. We knew that we wanted to be able to come into this game, in terms of progressing through the group, to really have something to play for, but for us, there’s still so much that we want to achieve and that we want to do”, the Republic of Ireland defender told Sky Sports.
She added, “But they’ve been excellent, they’ve proved it in their two games. We have our work cut out with them.”
Even though Louise Quinn has acknowledged how excellent the Super Falcons have been at the ongoing 2023 Women’s World Cup, she insisted that she and her countrywomen who are yet to record a win at the tournament have a lot to prove.
She said, “But, at the same time, we’ve shown against the two top sides in this group as well, Australia and Canada, that they’re going to have to beware of us in a lot of ways.”
The outcome of the game between the Super Falcons and the Republic of Ireland can not help Louise Quinn’s team to escape from the group. On the other hand, the Nigerian team needs just a draw to qualify for the round of 16.
