2011 WWC: Super Falcons Shot down by France In World Cup Opener

Nigeria went into the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup with so much hope but unfortunately fell flat on their faces when  France's Delie sneaked in the first goal of the 2011 women's world cup 11 minutes into the second half to put France up by 1-0.
The Falcons' captain,Precious Dede made some spectacular saves when France's tormentor in chief and player of the match Necib's pass set up midfielder Bussaglia to unleash a 25 yard thunderbolt which was parried away by Dede.  Showing individual brilliance,the Nigerians were unable to control the tempo of the game in midfield,which gave the French total ownership of the Nigerian midfield. Players like,Oparanozie,Chikwelu,Nkwocha and Mbachu exhibited technique but failed to translate their output into total team play. Nigeria were let down by their lack of chemistry,over reliance on individual prowess and physicality and a disjointed midfield.They gave away possession so easily and failed miserably in stringing passes together.When asked about the way forward for Nigeria,Coach Uche said,

"The girls played a great game, we were just unfortunate," she said.

"We will go back and work on [our finishing] because if we had converted our chances we would have been looking at a victory." So I ask, how many chances did Nigeria create let alone squander ?

Tactically,the Nigerians were lost when France was on the counter attack.Nigeria did next to nothing in winning back possession of the ball and so allowed France more possession in midfield which gave Necib room to deliver pin point passes to her attackers. Nigeria's attacking line was left thread bare when Oparanozie was subbed for Michael, a move  I believe was an error on the part of the technical bench that is, if it wasn't done for the reason of Oparanozie being injured. It is still early days yet,however if Nigeria plays their next game against Germany on June 30th, in like fashion,expect nothing but an early flight back to Lagos.
WATCH highlights of Nigeria vs France

FIRST 11-Dede,Ohale,Nkwocha,Ebi,Ukaonu,Mbachu,Orji,Oparanozie,Chikwelu,Iroka,Ikidi
subs-Kalu,Michael(Oparanozie),Chukwudi,Chukwunonye(Ikidi),Oluehi,Ordega,Jerome,Sunday(Orji),Aighewi,Jonathan.