All eyes on Nigeria’s Oshoala but Onumonu shows she can be a threat at this World Cup
When Canada head coach Bev Priestman was asked about Nigeria’s main threat in her pre-match press conference before the teams’ opening Women’s World Cup match, the focus was inevitably on Asisat Oshoala.
Priestman made it clear she did not want her side to allow the Barcelona forward to have the space to run in behind, and that approach meant Oshoala was kept quiet for the most part in the sides’ 0-0 draw in Melbourne on Friday.
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Though the match began with the reigning Olympic champions on the front foot, it eventually grew cagey, and then opened up again in favor of the Nigerians, particularly showcasing the talent of World Cup debutant and Gotham FC forward Ifeoma Onumonu. Onumonu received loud cheers whenever she was on the ball from a crowd that seemed to pull for Nigeria as the “home” team, and when they managed to get forward, it was her play — rather than Oshoala’s — that often had Canada’s right side tied up.
It was a great advertisement for a squad blending superstar power with newer names such as Onumonu.
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Globally-renowned striker Oshoala, first capped by Nigeria at 18, is a five-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year and there was no doubt she was the focal point of Nigeria’s attack, staying high between Canada’s center-backs in hopes of springing a dangerous counter. But that also meant she was a focal point of Priestman’s defense as well.
Yet that only opened up a plethora of opportunities for Oshoala’s compatriots in attack, with Onumonu and Francisca Ordega the beneficiaries.
At 29, Onumonu is a year older than Oshoala and the same age as Ordega, but this is her first World Cup, while Oshoala is on her third and Ordega her
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