Toni Payne shows her class and four other takeaways from Super Falcons goalless draw v Ireland

The Super Falcons progressed to the knockout stage of the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup despite being held to a goalless draw by the Republic of Ireland at the Brisbane Stadium.

Nigeria finished second with five points, one less that co-hosts Australia who topped the group by thrashing Canada 4-0.

Allnigeriasoccer.com presents five observations noticed from the goalless draw against Ireland. 

1) Inability to keep possession

The Super Falcons inability to keep possession and control games was evident against the Irish women.

Nigeria struggled to control the game, especially in the first half where they had just 34% of the ball.

2) Super Falcons poor in transition

The Super Falcons, despite their composure and defensively solidity struggled to threaten opponents in the.group stage. 

Nigeria defended comfortably against the Irish  women but struggled to pose a threat while attacking. 

The lack of attacking threat is due to poor poor transition  from defense to attack. 

3) Improved second half performance

The Super Falcons produced a lackluster performance against Ireland. 

Falcons in the first half failed to record a shot on target and were poor  in transition from defense to attack.

However, the performance improved in the second period with Randy Waldrum's side threatening their opponent on some couple of occasions. 

4) Oshoala fails to impress 

The Barcelona striker returned to the staring line after coming off the bench to socre a crucialgoal against Australia.

Oshoala struggled to make an impact against Ireland and  and missed one big chance in the second half.

The five-time African Footballer of the Year could not complete her dribble attempts and lost possession six times.

5) Toni Payne shows class, impresses against Ireland 

Toni Payne showed class and excited the fans with her performance in both halves. 

The 28-year-old midfielder completed five dribble attempts and created one big chance. 

Adeyemi Adewale

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