Super Falcons’ duo of striker Rasheedat Ajibade and defender Osinachi Ohale are the only two Nigerian lasses listed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in its Best XI lineup at the end of the preliminary group stage of the ongoing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2022.
In the exclusive list of players picked by the competition’s Technical Study Group (TSG) following the completion of the tournament’s group phase, are outstanding performers selected from just seven countries.
In a release yesterday, CAF noted that South Africa’s consistent goalkeeper Andile Dlamini was selected as the tournament’s leading goalkeeper so far with a defence anchored by Ohale and Zambia’s Lushomo Mweemba with wingbacks in Tunisia’s Samia Aouni and Morocco’s Zineb Redouan completing the defence.
Morocco’s inspirational captain Ghizlane Chebbak is the leading goal scorer at the tournament with three goals to date and she and the classy South African captain from AC Milan Jane Refiloe make up a formidable midfield combination in the heart of the pitch.
Nigeria’s fantastic Rasheedat Ajibade marauds down the wing with Cameroon’s Ajara Nchout on the other flank providing plenty of firepower down the other flank.
Botswana’s Refilwe Tholakele gets the nod for the striker’s spot highest up on the pitch in tandem with the impressive attacking qualities of Zambia’s Grace Chanda just behind her in what is a formidable tournament Best XI to date.
The TSG is comprised of Clementine Toure (Cote d’Ivoire head coach), Radia Fertoul (Algeria head coach), Jacqui Shipanga (Namibia Technical Director), Shilene Booysen (South Sudan head coach), Mercy Tagoe (Ghana head coach) and Amani Boukare (Tunisia U20 head coach and senior team assistant coach).