France 1, Nigeria 0

France started their 2011 World Cup with a tough victory over Nigeria by a 1-0 score. Marie-Laure Delie's goal in the 56th minute gave three points to the French team, who will now face Canada in an all important Group A contest on Thursday.

France dominated the opening minutes of the game, controlling possession and forcing several corner kicks. Louisa Necib's inswinging corner in the 4th minute nearly snuck inside the near post, but it was headed away by a Nigerian defender.

In the 17th minute, Elise Bussaglia tested Nigerian keeper Precious Dede from distance, but she was up to the task pushing the shot wide with a diving save. Just a few minutes later, another Necib corner came loose in front of the net. Wendie Renard got to the ball first and shot, but the ball was deflected by Osinachi Ohale over the crossbar.

It almost seemed like the field was tilted toward Necib's side throughout the first half and she was very active for most of the match, creating chances and always menacing the Nigerian defense.

After they weathered the initial storm, the Nigerians slowly came into their own as the half progressed. And in the 25th minute, they had the best scoring opportunity of the first half. The Nigerians were able to gain control of the ball deep in their own end and start a counterattack.

Glory Iroka sent a long through ball forward with Desire Oparanozie timing her run perfectly for a clear cut breakaway. She approached from the right side of the box, with French goalkeeper Berangere Sapowicz coming out to cut off the angle. But Oparanozie got little on her shot and it rolled just wide of the far post. Oparanozie would be a thorn in the French defense for the first two thirds of the match as she was always threatening.

One of Nigeria's top players, Faith Ikidi, came off for Josephine Chukwunonye in the 39th minute and appeared to be laboring with some sort of injury. Nigerian players appeared to have trouble with the heat throughout the match, with several players cramping up.

Another attempt from distance was made by Necib just before intermission, but her shot from 30 yards was pushed wide by Dede.

Nigeria came close in the 51st minute as a long cross found Ebere Orji behind the French defense, but she was unable to make contact from inside the penalty area and the ball rolled harmlessly wide.

France finally broke through in 56th minute. After a good buildup, Eugenie Le Sommer had possession on the right wing and she sent a cross into the penalty area. A flick by Necib changed the direction of the cross slightly and the ball came to Delie, who was perfectly centered on the net and just 10 yards out. She made no mistake of her finish into the left side of the net past Dede to put the French on top.

Delie nearly made it 2-0 in the 64th minute, but her shot off of a Elodie Thomis cross went safely into the arms of Dede.

Nigeria's best scoring chance of the second half came in the 66th minute. Oparanozie once again threatened up the right side and Nigeria was able to eventually work the ball into the penalty area. Orji's shot from 15 yards sailed high and wide to the right. Nigeria was never able to get another good opportunity after that. At that point, tired legs seem to take over and limited any serious attacking.

France was largely able to neutralize Nigeria's two veteran players, Perpetua Nkwocha and Stella Mbachu. Nigeria was most dangerous on the counterattack, but less effective when it came to a possession game.

The French outshot Nigeria by a 15-7 margin and had the better of possesion, mostly on the weight of the opening 20 minutes. Both teams will return to action on Thursday. France meets Canada in a match that could decide who team number two out of Group A will be. Nigeria's task gets no easier as they face the host Germans on Thursday.

Group A Preview: Nigeria

Nigeria
Region: CAF
Coach: Ngozi Uche
How They Qualified: Won CAF Qualifying
Prior Cups:
2007: Group Stage
2003: Group Stage
1999: Lost in Quarterfinals
1995: Group Stage
1991: Group Stage

Returnees from 2007 World Cup: (9) Dede, Nkwocha, Mbachu, Chikwelu, Ikidi, Jerome, Oluehi, Ebi, Chukwudi.

Roster (Average Age: 22.74)

Name	Pos	Club	Age	Caps/Goals
Precious Dede	GK	River Angels	31	70/0
Alaba Jonathan	GK	Pelican Stars	19	0/0
Tochukwu Oluehi	GK	Sunshine Queens	24	40/0
Josephine Chukwunonye	DF	River Angels	19	10/0
Onome Ebi	DF	Duvenciler Lisesi	28	45/0
Faith Ikidi	DF	Pitea	24	47/0
Ulunma Jerome	DF	Pitea	23	37/0
Osinachi Ohale	DF	Delta Queens	19	9/0
Helen Ukaonu	DF	Sunnana	20	11/1
Rita Chikwelu	MF	Umea	23	37/16
Ogonna Chukwudi	MF	Umea	22	12/0
Glory Iroka	MF	River Angels	21	8/0
Rebecca Kalu	MF	River Angels	21	1/0
Perpetua Nkwocha	MF	Sunnana	35	80/40
Ebere Orji	MF	River Angels	18	13/2
Amenze Aighewi	FW	River Angels	19	3/0
Stella Mbachu	FW	River Angels	33	85/20
Sarah Michael	FW	Orebro DFF	20	6/0
Desire Oparanozie	FW	Delta Queens	17	12/6
Francisca Ordega	FW	Bayelsa Queens	17	9/1
Uchechi Sunday	FW	Neunkirch	16	0/0

Recent Matches:

Date	Opponent	Competition	Result
6/16/11	Slovakia	Friendly	T 2-2
6/8/11	Austria	Friendly	T 1-1
6/3/11	Czech Republic	Friendly	W 1-0
5/16/11	Ghana	All-Africa	L 1-2
5/1/11	Ghana	All-Africa	T 1-1
4/16/11	Namibia	Olympic Qualifier	W 2-0
4/4/11	Namibia	Olympic Qualifier	W 7-0
11/25/10	Germany	Friendly	L 0-8
11/14/10	Equatorial Guinea	CAF Championship	W 4-2
11/11/10	Cameroon	CAF Championship	W 5-1
11/7/10	Tanzania	CAF Championship	W 3-0
11/4/10	South Africa	CAF Championship	W 2-1
11/1/10	Mali	CAF Championship	W 5-0
6/25/10	Cote d’Ivoire	CAF Qualifier	W 3-1
5/23/10	Cote d’Ivoire	CAF Qualifier	W 2-1

The Nigerians are one of seven teams that have qualified for all six World Cups. They have made it as far as the quarterfinals once, in 1999, when they lost to Brazil by a 4-3 margin. They have one of the deepest and proudest traditions in all of African women’s soccer.

Forward Stella Mbachu has played in the last three World Cups dating back to 1999. She, midfielder Perpetua Nkwocha, and goalkeeper Precious Dede have been constants for Nigeria for a decade. The team will look to their leadership when they face veteran squads from Germany, Canada, and France in Group A.

Nearly half the Nigerian team, nine players in all, are 20 years of age or younger. Eight of those players were on the U-20 team that finished second to Germany in the 2010 U-20 World Cup. These players proved their skill in that competition, but do they have the experience to make their mark in the 2011 World Cup?

One other common thread is that nine play their club soccer in other countries, seven in the Swedish Damallsvenskan. Nearly all are starters for their respective teams, including Faith Ikidi and Rita Chikwelu, two mainstays in the Nigerian lineup. Young Sarah Michael scored seven goals for Djurgarden in 2010.

Nkwocha scored 11 goals in the CAF Championships and is still Nigeria’s top gun at age 35. However, young forward Desire Oparanozie has been doing some scoring as well. She scored three in the CAF Championships, followed by a two goal game against Namibia in April. She is just 17 years old and a player to watch for the future.

Facing the tough opponents that they will, it may well come down to the goalkeeping of Dede to keep Nigeria in matches. She has the experience, but she will have to be at the top of her game if Nigeria has any chance of advancing past the group stage. In a match against Germany last fall, Nigeria surrendered eight goals. That kind of calamity cannot happen in this World Cup, where goal differential is important.

While Nigeria had very little trouble in the CAF Championships, which qualified them for the World Cup, they have stumbled a bit since then. First, there was the German match in November, which they played less than two weeks after the CAF, so that could be explained away. But the recent loss to Ghana in a two-match series for the All-Africa Games was very unexpected.

They have since played three non-qualifying European sides, posting a record of one win and two ties against the Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovakia. The teams they will be facing in Germany will be much stronger than those teams.

For Nigeria to advance, everything will have to fall right. Dede will have to be nearly perfect in goal, the veterans will have to hold the team together, and youngsters like Oparanozie are going to have to perform some magic. It will be a tough challenge for the Super Falcons and they may have to wait four years before they can truly soar.

Note: Some information for this article was obtained from www.fifa.com.