Oparanozie, Ebi others to face Rwanda

AWC Qualifier: Oparanozie, Ebi others to face Rwanda

May 22, 2014

Coach Edwin Okon of the Super Falcons has named the 18 players that will face their Rwandan counterpart in the African Women Championship qualifier on Saturday.

A statement from the team on Wednesday in Abuja said that two foreign-based players, Onome Ebi and Desire Oparanozie topped the list.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the team would visit Kigali, Rwanda to face the She-Amavubi in the first leg of the AWC qualifier. According to the statement, the surprise inclusion in the squad is Chiwendu Ihezuo, Captain of the U-17 women’s team that got to the quarter-final of the 2014 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Also in the list are two members of the U-20 women’s team, Azizat Oshoala and Yetunde Adeboyejo.

The list also has two goalkeepers, five defenders, eight midfielders and three attackers.

The goalkeepers are Precious Dede and Ebubeleye White, while the defenders are Onome Ebi, Blessing Edoho, Ngozi Ebere, Mariam Ibrahim and Josephine Chukwunonye.

The midfielders are Evelyn Nwabuoku, Onyinyechi Ohadugha, Ngozi Okobi, Azizat Oshoala, Cecilia Nku, Chioma Wogu, Stella Mbachu and Esther Sunday.

The attackers to face Rwanda are Desire Oparanozie, Chiwendu Ihezuo,Yetunde Adeboyejo

The team was expected to depart the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Wednesday afternoon aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight to Addis Ababa before connecting a flight to Kigali.

Saturday’s match is the first leg of the final round of the AWC qualifiers, while the second leg will be played in Nigeria two weeks later. The AWC is scheduled to hold in Namibia from Oct. 11 to 25.