Former Super Falcons assistant coach Mansur Abdullahi has urged Nigeria’s senior women’s national team to remain calm and focused as they prepare for a crucial World Cup play-off against South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.
The highly anticipated encounter presents the Super Falcons with an important opportunity to advance to the next stage of the World Cup qualification process, and Abdullahi believes composure could be decisive when the two African heavyweights meet.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s fixture, Abdullahi advised the Falcons to put recent criticism behind them and concentrate on making the most of the opportunity before them. He argued that Nigeria’s performances at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations were not as poor as they have been portrayed.
“The truth is that Falcons did not play the way people think. My own candid advice is for them to calm down, make use of the opportunity that comes their way on Thursday and get the slot for the next step,” Abdullahi told PUNCH Sports Extra.
The former assistant coach, who currently serves as Technical Director at Sokoto United and Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association, brings considerable experience from his time around Nigeria’s women’s national teams. He has also previously worked with the Falconets and Flamingoes before joining the Super Falcons’ technical crew.
His call for calm comes at a critical moment for the Falcons. With the pressure surrounding a fixture of such magnitude, maintaining composure could be just as important as tactical preparation. South Africa remain one of Nigeria’s strongest rivals on the continent, making the encounter a demanding test for the Nigerian side.
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