'Thank God there's VAR' – Super Falcons forward Okoronkwo applauds referee for reversing penalty call

The Super Falcons came from two goals down to beat host nation Morocco 3-2 in the final of the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations at Stade Olympique de Rabat on Saturday night.

This is the record extending 10th title for Nigeria, which they called Mission X as they returned to the summit of Women's football on the continent.

One of the key talking points from the match was the performance of Antsino Twanyanyukwa, who found herself at the centre of controversy after awarding a penalty to the Atlas Lionesses in the 79th minute. 

However, following a VAR intervention and a subsequent pitchside review, the Namibian referee reversed her initial decision, sparking mixed reactions from fans and pundits alike.

Player of the Match, Esther Okoronkwo commended Twanyanyukwa for her handling of the incident and highlighted the importance of VAR in ensuring fairness.

"I felt like she got most of the calls right. Thank God there's VAR — she called a penalty against us, but she was able to go to the monitor and saw it wasn't a penalty,” Okoronkwo told reporters at the post-match press conference.

The attacker also opened up on Nigeria’s mindset after a difficult first half, which saw the team fall behind under pressure.

"In the first half, the goals were unfortunate because it happens in football. We went back to the locker room, we had the spirit and then we knew we were going to come back second half.

"It's all or nothing, we already knew that, and then we came together as a team. We had to go for this, and we did in the second half."

Okoronkwo also gave credit to Morocco for their strong start and tactical discipline, acknowledging the quality of the North Africans on the night.

"The Morocco team is a very good team, they had the chemistry. They were able to find it first half, so props to them. They knew what they were doing.

"They are a tough team, we knew we had to come up with a strategy in the second half and find a way to beat them."

After reducing the deficit from the penalty spot in the 64th minute, Okoronkwo played a pivotal role in Nigeria's comeback, setting up Folasade Ijamilusi for the equaliser in the 71st minute before delivering the game-winning assist in the 88th minute.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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