Alozie Praises Super Falcons’ Progress After Thrashing Zambia

Super Falcons defender Michelle Alozie has described Nigeria’s dominant 5-0 quarter-final win over Zambia as the team’s most complete outing yet at the ongoing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, admitting the match left her physically drained.

Speaking in the mixed zone after the match, Alozie credited the team’s growing chemistry and praised the collective effort that powered them into the semi-finals.

“It felt really good out there. The way we played together was incredible, and I think it shows how much we’re developing as a unit,” she said in a chat with journalist Ademola Victor. “I can’t do anything without my teammates those beside me, in front of me and today we connected better, defended well, and I was happy to contribute to one of the goals.”

Alozie, who has been a consistent figure in Nigeria’s backline, admitted the clash with Zambia was an intense physical battle, especially with the threat posed by their attacking trio.

“That game took everything out of me. Their front three is top quality, so shutting them down meant digging deep,” she said. “By the end, I was literally crawling. Credit to Zambia they’re a strong team but we stuck to our plan and took our chances.”

The emphatic victory marked a step up from Nigeria’s somewhat unconvincing group stage performances, where they scored just four goals across three matches despite finishing top of their group with seven points.

Set pieces proved a decisive weapon against Zambia, with three of Nigeria’s five goals coming from dead-ball situations. Alozie pointed out that the Falcons made full use of their physical advantage.

“We knew set pieces would be key, especially given our height advantage not just over Zambia but many African teams,” the 28-year-old explained. “We made sure to take those chances today and we did.”

With the win, Nigeria continue to build momentum in their quest for a 10th WAFCON crown and their first since 2018 as their “Mission X” campaign marches into the final four.