Nigeria international duo of Rasheedat Ajibade and Halimat Ayinde will miss Super Falcons’ 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Group B opening clash against Olympic champions Canada on Friday.
The Super Falcons and Canada will face off at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium at 3:30 am Nigeria time.
Having bagged nine goals and one assist in Liga F for Atletico Madrid this year, Ajibade heads into the World Cup in seriously good form.
The Atletico star’s inch-perfect header ultimately settled the outcome, leaving the Super Falcons to look forward to a ninth successive appearance at the global showpiece.
Although, Nigeria went on to lose to hosts Morocco in the WAFCON semi-finals, ending hopes of a fourth successive continental title.
Ajibade and Ayinde were also sent off in the match which led to their suspension for the Group B clash at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Ayinde was expelled in the 48th minute while Ajibade got her red card following her second yellow card after VAR review in the 70th minute.
According to a disciplinary review released by FIFA on Wednesday, the two players are not eligible to take part in the game.
Despite missing the third-place game against Zambia, after being shown a straight red card in the semi-final against hosts Morocco, Ajibade ended the tournament as the joint-top scorer with three goals and three assists.
The Atletico Madrid star was also one of the scorers the last time Nigeria faced Canada during their Olympic celebration tour.
The hosts won 2-0 in the first match at British Columbia Place in Vancouver but the rematch at Starlight Stadium in Victoria saw Nigeria cancel their two goals to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Ultimately, Nigeria and Canada are very similar in terms of physicality and capitalizing in transitional moments, and the story may well come down to who can do it better across the 90 minutes under the pressure of a World Cup group opener.
However, considering Canada are Nigeria’s first World Cup opponent this year, both players will be solely missed.
MOLATsportgist 