Barcelona’s Asisat Oshoala leads World Cup charge for ever-present Nigeria
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Nigeria's Asisat Oshoala is the first African woman to win the Spanish top flight’s leading goalscorer trophy and the first to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
PHOTO: AFP
BARCELONA – Sporting a pair of sunglasses, Asisat Oshoala celebrated Barcelona’s Champions League triumph with her teammates in early June, but Nigeria was already on her mind.
Standing on the balcony of the historic palace in Placa de Sant Jaume in the city’s Gothic neighbourhood before several thousand jubilant fans, Oshoala was handed the microphone.
“Visca Barca and Visca Nigeria,” the 28-year-old forward said, swopping her homeland for “Catalunya”, as the refrain usually goes.
Ruled out with a hamstring injury, Oshoala could not play any part in Barcelona’s roller-coaster 3-2 win over Wolfsburg that saw them clinch their second Champions League trophy.
However, she is expected to be ready for Nigeria’s Women’s World Cup opener against Canada in Melbourne on Friday.
Nigeria are the only African team to feature in every edition of the tournament since it began in 1991, but the Super Falcons have never made it beyond the quarter-finals.
If that is to change, a lot will depend on five-time African women’s Player of the Year Oshoala.
“When you have Oshoala, you have a chance against any team,” said Nigeria’s American coach Randy Waldrum, whose side must first negotiate a difficult group featuring Australia, Olympic gold medallists Canada and the Republic of Ireland.
“She puts a lot of pressure on herself because she loves Nigeria and she wants Nigeria to be successful on the world stage.”
Oshoala became the first African woman to win the Spanish top flight’s leading goalscorer trophy and in August 2022 also became the first to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
With Barcelona, she has won domestic league thrice and the Champions League twice. Now she is aiming to follow that up with World Cup glory.
She has a good supporting cast this time, including Atletico Madrid’s Rasheedat Ajibade and Saint-Etienne’s Esther Okoronkwo. Said Waldrum: “The Super Falcons squad are loaded with many talented players. There are a lot of players who have much to offer in the team and I am reasonably excited and hopeful.”
However, there is some uncertainty about Waldrum’s own position, after he accused the Nigerian Football Federation of not paying his wages and player bonuses. AFP