Revelation Cup: Oshoala returns to Falcons

Super Falcons and Barcelona Femeni striker, Asisat Oshoala, will make her return to the Nigerian women’s national team after six months because of an injury sustained at the last CAF Women’s Nations Cup in Morocco last June.

Oshoala, who made a comeback to playing football late last year for Barcelona, is a member of the 23-woman team that the Nigerian Football Federation has announced for the Revelation Cup, which will take place in Mexico in February.

The list was released and signed by the NFF media and publicity secretary, Ademola Olajire, who rolled out the names of players that will take part in the four-nation tournament.

According to the press release, Oshoala incurred a “Grade two ligament injury” during Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to South Africa at the just concluded Women’s Nations Cup, WAFCON, in Morocco last June; she will stage her comeback when the Falcons play in February.

The Revelation Cup, which was organised to test teams ahead of the ninth FIFA World Cup scheduled for the summer in New Zealand, will take place in Mexico, with two other countries, Costa Rica and Colombia, joining up with Nigeria in a seven-day football event scheduled for 15 February till 21 February.

The Falcons will depart Nigeria on 11 February and play their first game against hosts Mexico on the 15th at 4 p.m. Mexico time (10 p.m. Nigeria time). The second and third games will be against Colombia on the 18th and Costa Rica on the 21st, respectively.

READ ALSO: WAFCON 2022: VAR needs to make sense, not breed a sense of injustice

Other players called up by Waldrum are Atletico Madrid star, Rasheedat Ajibade; Leicester City defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, Captain Onome Ebi and goalkeeper Nnadozie Chiamaka, who plays for Paris FC.

The 23-woman squad

Goalkeepers: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC, France); Yewande Balogun (AS Saint-Etienne, France)

Defenders: Onome Ebi (Levante Las Planas, Spain); Osinachi Ohale (Deportivo Alaves, Spain); Ashleigh Plumptre (Leicester City, England); Glory Ogbonna (ALG Spor, Turkey); Rofiat Imuran (Stade de Reims, France); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash, USA); Oluwatosin Demehin (Stade de Reims, France); Akudo Ogbonna (Rivers Angels)

Midfielders: Halimatu Ayinde (FC Rosengard, Sweden); Christy Ucheibe (SL Benfica, Portugal); Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene (Eskilstuna United, Sweden); Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Toni Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain); Jennifer Echegini (Florida State University, USA); Regina Otu (AS Saint-Etienne, France)

Forwards: Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona Femeni, Spain); Esther Okoronkwo (AS Saint-Etienne, France); Ifeoma Onumonu (NY/NJ Gotham FC, USA); Chinwendu Ihezuo (Rayadas Monterrey, Mexico); Francisca Ordega (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Uchenna Kanu (Tigres Femenil, Mexico)