Falcons need surgical operation before World Cup – Izilien

Following the Super Falcons poor performance at the just-concluded Revelations Cup tournament in Mexico, former coach of the team, Godwin Izilein, has called for the overhauling of the squad ahead of the World Cup, The PUNCH reports.

Having lost to hosts Mexico 1-0 and South American giants Colombia 1-0 in their first two games of the tournament, the Falcons salvaged a 1-0 win over Costa Rica at the Estadio León in León de los Aldamas in the early hours of Wednesday to end the tourney with three points.

Esther Okoronkwo’s first goal for the Falcons was all Randy Waldrum’s charges needed to claim their only win at the four-nation invitational tournament, while also ending their seven-game losing streak, the country’s longest losing run in over 20 years.

The competition, which served as part of Falcons preparations for the World Cup in July, has seen the former Falcons gaffer express doubts about the team’s chances of going far in Australia and New Zealand, while calling for the overhauling of the team.

“What we are going to see from the team at the World Cup is already manifesting,” Izilien told The PUNCH.

“If they can lose seven matches in a row, then there is a problem and I am worried. I am of the opinion that if the names have not been registered or submitted to FIFA, then we are lucky because they need to do a surgical operation on that team. A lot of players need to be removed from that team while we bring in fresh legs.

“I have said it before and I will say it again that some players are too old for that team and shouldn’t be at the World Cup. The earlier we realise this the better for us and it is also unfair to the local league because we are not giving the girls the opportunities in the national team.

“The game is meant for younger legs and we can’t be parading those who can barely run or when they weave their hairs the attachments are almost touching their legs.

“The team needs overhauling and we need to identify those areas early enough, they have struggled to connect and that’s why they haven’t been scoring goals. If the problem is the midfield, then they should be overhauled. We already know that the defence is weak and changes also must be made there.”

On the change to the team, Iziien said it cuts across the backroom staff.

“When you are overhauling a team it starts from the coaches because if a coach cannot get results with what he or she has then they should get out. The salary we are paying the man (Waldrum) is enough to pay three very good Nigerian coaches, I see it as a waste of money. He should throw in the towel because he hasn’t done anything.”