Duro Ikhazuagbe 

After Super Falcons ended their warm up matches with emphatic 3-1 win over Ghana’s Black Queens in Casablanca on Sunday evening, Head Coach, Justine Madugu, has insisted that his wards are hungry for victory in the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

Nine-time African champions Super Falcons will open their campaign against Tunisia on Sunday evening and determined to make the best of the first group game.

“The girls are ready and are showing real hunger for victory and team spirit is high. We are looking forward to our first match on Sunday against Tunisia,” observed Madugu in his review of the friendly with Ghana’s Black Queens in Casablanca.

Goals by Mexico-based Chinwendu Ihezuo, Asisat Oshoala and captain Rasheedat Ajibade affirmed the Falcons’ supremacy over the Queens, at a closed-door game played at the Ziaida Palace Benslimane field.

“The match gave us the opportunity of having the full squad together to really assess our strength as a team, and build on team cohesion, coordination and on various combinations.

“It will always be work in progress, but we are very focused on our realisable and achievable target of Mission X,” stressed the Falcons coach.

The victory over Black Queens extended Madugu’s stellar record with the Super Falcons. He was in charge when the Falcons easily surged past Ethiopia in the qualifying race for the 2024 Olympics, and also led the team to crush Cape Verde to secure qualification for the 13th Women AFCON, which kicks off on Saturday.

Last year, Madugu led the Falcons to rout Algeria’s senior girls in two friendly matches in Ikenne and Lagos, and restricted France to an odd-goal victory in another friendly match in France in November.

This year, Madugu has led the Super Falcons to a 2-0 win over Cameroon in a friendly game in Cameroon, and on Monday last week, picked a team that fought hard against Portugal in a 0-0 draw in Lisbon.

“We will continue to work on our weak areas, and I believe that by the time of our first match, we will be ready,” Madugu concluded.