Because the Tremendous Falcons put together to host Benin Republic within the return leg of their 2026 Girls’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifier on Tuesday, midfielder Deborah Abiodun says the workforce is targeted on delivering one other robust efficiency — one powered by delight, focus, and the vitality of their residence followers.
The match, scheduled for the Moshood Abiola Sports activities Area in Abeokuta, will mark the Falcons’ first aggressive residence look since their historic WAFCON triumph in Morocco.
This fixture carries significance past qualification for the continent’s most profitable ladies’s nationwide workforce— a symbolic homecoming.
Abiodun, who offered two assists within the 2–0 first-leg victory in Lomé, spoke with the media in Abeokuta along with her trademark calm conviction.
For her, Tuesday’s sport is not only about defending a lead, however about reaffirming the Tremendous Falcons’ identification earlier than their supporters.
“Yeah, it’s going to be, you already know, the Tremendous Falcons as typical, enterprise as typical, and we hope to see each one in all your faces as a result of it means a lot to us,” Abiodun mentioned, smiling as she addressed the followers anticipated to pack the stands in Abeokuta.
“Undoubtedly, we want it to inspire us and in addition to place smiles on folks’s faces. We actually admire the appreciation prior to now, you already know, the assist, every part. And we simply wish to say thanks, so we count on everybody.”
It was a heartfelt invitation from one in all Nigeria’s brightest younger stars — a midfielder whose vitality, intelligence, and passing vary have made her indispensable since breaking into the nationwide workforce in 2022.
“We’re not taking Benin with no consideration”
Though the Tremendous Falcons managed the primary leg with composure and by no means regarded troubled of their 2–0 win, Abiodun insists the workforce is not going to be complacent in Abeokuta.
“I imply, the earlier sport, each one in all us did our greatest. You realize, it’s a workforce effort, collective effort, and we thank God for the victory,” she mentioned. “Chinwe and Esther did their factor, placing the objectives behind the web, and the subsequent sport, we simply wish to count on that we additionally do what we’ve at all times been doing — put all our greatest, 100% focus, and make Nigerians proud as typical.”
Her phrases underline a bunch that’s each assured and grounded. A win or draw will seal Nigeria’s ticket to subsequent 12 months’s WAFCON in Morocco, the place they may try to defend their crown.
“I really feel just like the mindset is means increased than it was in Togo as a result of now that is our residence,” Abiodun added. “That is our residence floor, and we wish to be certain we put in our greatest efficiency towards Benin as a result of they’re additionally facet, a facet that might additionally do one thing in the event that they’re given the prospect. So we’re not taking any of them with no consideration.”
Rising affect, similar starvation
Since bursting onto the scene, Abiodun has develop into one of many Tremendous Falcons’ most reliable gamers — combining composure with creativity. From her standout defensive shows on the 2023 FIFA Girls’s World Cup to her latest playmaking type within the qualifiers, she embodies the evolution of Nigeria’s new era.
Nonetheless solely 21, Abiodun continues to hold herself with maturity past her years. Her two assists in Lomé mirrored her rising affect, however her mindset — grounded in humility and delight — really defines her.
“We simply imagine our workforce will do our greatest,” she concluded. “That is our residence, and we wish to be certain Nigerians go residence completely satisfied.”
For Abiodun and her teammates, it’s enterprise as typical — however this time, with extra fireplace.
