Paris Olympics: Super Falcons went and failed one unwritten rule

Tournament football, contrary to what many think, is perhaps the easiest series of matches to win and also to lose, as the Nigeria Super Falcons demonstrated at the Paris Olympics.

The Girls in Green had their worst showing in any international competition they have ever participated in. Their performance in Paris paled in comparison to what the world saw from them at the last Women’s World Cup tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Of the three group stage matches the Super Falcons played, they lost all three, crashing out in humiliating fashion with just one goal to their name, courtesy of Juventus’ Jennifer Echegini. Was it the tactics, or was it the players themselves who lost their way?

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It was a little bit of both, one might say. The games were there for the taking, but the Falcons failed to seize them with both hands. Worst of all, they lost the one game they shouldn’t have at the Paris Olympics, violating the ‘unwritten rule’ in tournament football: ‘Never lose your first game.’

Though no pundit or football analyst would say it outright, the first game in any given tournament—be it the World Cup, the Euros, the AFCON/WAFCON, or the Olympics—is like the last game a team will ever play. Of course, there are instances where a team loses their first group stage game and goes on to win the tournament, but that is the exception rather than the norm.

The Super Falcons were not the exception at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Their performance in no way suggested that, had they qualified for the quarter-finals by some stroke of luck, they would have gone on to win gold or silver.

Their first game against Brazil was a crucial opportunity to boost confidence for the rest of the tournament. Ironically, the Brazilian women’s team was not the strongest in the group, let alone the tournament. In fact, the Super Falcons had their chances in the first game to score against Brazil, even before conceding the first goal. Nigeria failed to capitalize, ending the first match with a defeat.

Against Brazil, Nigeria had four shots on target, the most they managed throughout their campaign, yet failed to convert any to gain a lead or equalizer. Then came Spain, which felt like an onslaught and a surrender by the Super Falcons, who seemed to concede that they did not belong in the Olympics.

It was a total domination by ‘La Roja’ that confirmed the Girls in Green as mere placeholders from Africa. After failing to secure a win in their first match, Nigeria seemed to raise the white flag, giving up without a fight.

They did attempt to fight against Japan, but the Asian team knew their Nigerian counterparts were desperate. The best way to defeat a desperate team is to let them realize their desperation and then exploit it. The Super Falcons played into Japan’s hands, who only needed to wait and watch before handing the West African women a 3-1 defeat, ending their Paris Olympics campaign.

The Super Falcons went to the Paris Olympics, failed the unwritten rule, and then gave up without putting up a fight.