Nigeria’s marquee center forward Asisat Oshoala was not utilized off the bench by manager Randy Waldrum as the Super Falcons claimed a 1-0 win over South Africa’s Banyana Banyana in a Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier on Friday evening.
Oshoala holds the distinction of being the first African woman to win the UEFA Champions League, as well as the first African and Nigerian to score in a Champions League final.
The former Barcelona star etched her name into the history books on July 27, 2023 by becoming the first Nigerian player to score in three consecutive World Cups after tallying a goal in the group stage against Australia.
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Oshoala is Waldrum’s preferred striker up front but she found herself fall down the pecking order following her late arrival in camp.
The 29-year-old was the only Super Falcons player that did not train fully with the team in their final workout on Thursday.
When queried about whether it was a tactical choice not to play Oshoala and whether she stands a chance of featuring in the return leg on Tuesday, Waldrum responded: “We’ll have to sit down, watch videos and see what we want to come up with the second match, so i couldn’t tell you tonight if she will play or if she won’t.
“She just arrived in camp so obviously physically from the travel she had I didn’t feel she was prepared to play for us. We’ll see that moving forward. “
In her most recent appearance for the Super Falcons, Oshoala came off the bench in a 1-0 victory against Cameroon in February.
