The Super Falcons of Nigeria said goodbye to the women’s football event at the 2024 Olympic Games. They lost 3-1 to Japan.
Japan started the game very strong and kept Nigeria on the back foot from the beginning.
Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie made an amazing save in the seventh minute to stop Japan from scoring.
Japan kept pushing hard, and nine minutes later, Osinachi Ohale made an important block to stop them again.
The hard work paid off for Japan when Chelsea forward Maika Hamano scored the first goal in the 22nd minute.
Just 10 minutes later, Mina Tanaka scored another goal for Japan, making it 2-0.
The Super Falcons tried hard to come back, and PSG’s new player Jennifer Echegini scored a goal for Nigeria three minutes before halftime.
But before the first half ended, Hana Kitagawa scored a beautiful free kick, bringing Japan’s lead back to two goals.
In the second half, Nigeria had the ball more and tried to attack, but Japan focused on defending and counter-attacks.
Japan got a penalty in the 52nd minute because Rasheedat Ajibade was thought to have pulled a Japanese player inside the penalty box.
However, after looking at the video replay (VAR), the referee decided to cancel the penalty.
Nigeria ended up in last place in Group C, with no points from their three games.