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The Falconets of Nigeria are under pressure of getting their third All African Games women soccer Gold currently going on in Rabat, Morocco but they have their Algerian counterparts to beat first, in the 1st semifinals slated for 1300hrs on Tuesday at the Boubker Aamar Stadium.
The Falconets Saturday played 1-1 draw with perennial rival, Cameroon to top group B after walloping South Africa 3-0 and walking over the Zambian girls.
Algeria came second in group A after Morocco having defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0; lost to Morocco 2-3 and beat Mali 1-0.
The last time Nigerian women adorned the soccer gold was in 2007 incidentally at the Games in Algiers, Algeria when they thrashed South Africa 4-0 in the finals and Ghana defeated Algerian babes 3-1 to cart away the bronze medal.
Nigeria first won the Gold at the very first participation of women in the soccer event at Abuja in 2003 when she piped South Africa 1-0. That year, Cameroon beat Mali 1-0 to take the bronze but Nigeria in the last games at Brazzaville, Congo placed 4th when Ivory Coast beat her 2-1 to bag the bronze.
Cameroon that was runners up at the Brazzaville Games will square up with hosts Morocco in the second semifinal same Tuesday.
The finals of the Women Soccer event is slated for Thursday 29th August after the 3rd place match would have been decided.
- ENIOLA OLATUNJI.
