Super Falcons striker Gift Monday has said that the team will continue their impressive run at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The Randy Waldrum-led side defeated co-hosts Australia 3-2 on Thursday, July 27 at Lang Park.
They had earlier played out a 0-0 draw with Canada on July 21 at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
As it stands the Super Falcons are currently top of Group B with four points from their first two matches.
Commenting on the impressive win against Australia onday took to her Twitter handle to sing her team’s praises.
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“I am very proud of the performance and progress of this incredible group. The feeling of being part of this team alone gives me goosebumps. We are here to shine and surely the good run will continue,” she posted.
Monday racked up three goals and three assists for Granadilla Tenerife in the Primera Division last season.
The Super Falcons best showing at the FIFA Women’s World Cup was in USA 1999 where they reached the quarter final stage.
By Toju Sote
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_ Gift Monday: The Suave Falcon _
Massively depleted after 2 players were handed their walking papers, the Super Falcons had a mountain to climb against hosts Morocco in last year’s women’s Afcon semi-final.
Playing 11v11 was tough enough, now 9v11 in front of hostile opposition crowd, all hands had to be on defensive deck to try to retain the 2:2 scoreline.
Out of the blues, there was one last chance to power Nigeria to an unlikely lead. That unlikely present was almost delivered by none other than the ubiquitous striker Gift Monday.
Powering through a sea of Moroccan defenders all by herself like a cascading flash flood , Monday surged forward and pulled the trigger just outside the 18 yard box. The world stopped for a second, the home vociferous crowd held it’s breath, the Super Falcons players said their prayers but sadly and agonisingly, the ball whooshed just over the bar!
Nigerian and Moroccon hands were on their respective heads for contrasting reasons: one a sigh of relief, the other the groan of despair.
Nigeria had lost perhaps the last chance to create history in the most unlikely of ways: there will be no miracle of Rabat.
The kiss of death would then be delivered by Ifeoma Onumonu – already a persona non grata to a body of Super Falcons fans at that stage – after failing to put away her penalty kick. Nigeria will not be playing in the Afcon final.
But the story of Gift Monday had begun :the unlikely striker who almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Nigeria.
Gift made the world cup squad but she has thus far only romanced the bench for Nigeria’s first two matches. But make no mistake this lady is voluptuous. She like to rendezvous into the box 18 with seductive movements before caressing ball and slamming the sweet spot of the net
Ahh!
Despite having not romanced the ball on grass in this competition, Gift Monday is loving every bit of it and egging her team on.
“I am very proud of the performance and progress of this incredible group. The feeling of being part of this team alone gives me goosebumps. We are here to shine and surely the good run will continue,” posted Gift Monday on social media.
With Oparanozie yet to be acquainted with game-time and a glut of options up front, it remains to be seen when Monday will embrace the pitch. Never one to shy away from getting stuck in, Monday will be itching to get her day.
She has pace, dribbling abilities, a decent passing range, attention to offensive details and a keen eye for the net.
Monday tried but was unsuccessful in writing her name in football pop-culture in last year’s Afcon. Should the opportunity present itself in this tournament, she will definitely go to bed with it!
@deo. your incredible summations is a beauty to behold. I feel humbled to follow your thought processes. Thank you.
@Deo for a moment I got an imagination of Gift hitting the cross bar, lol you’re a writer hats off!!!
Too much talk let’s win the trophy or get to Semi before all this excitement. Huh Nigeria always celebrate too early and cry home at the first knock out stage. Enough of all this unnecessary best squad talk. Best squad after winning WC
You simply don’t know where the excitement is coming from. Have ypu ever done something no one ever gave you a chance of doing?
Imagine yourself writing JAMB as a student, where your father tongue-lashed you for being academically poor and very unserious with your life before giving you the money for registration. Your mother who is supposed to show some support is worse, comparing you with her sister’s son who was born 4 years after your immediate younger sister was given birth to but now a medical student in a big university in Lagos. Imagine your siblings supporting your father’s threat to dump you in a mechanic workshop to learn the trade if you ever fail to obtain the basic mark to secure an admission into a Nigerian tertiary institution, even if it’s for Yoruba Education programme in a College of Education near your house.
Fired by this pressure from every angle, you prepared for this exam with very limited resources because no one is ready to provide anything for you since to them your failure is non-negotiable.
Now, the result comes out, and after dialling your 55019 code to check it, what you saw is 320 to study medicine, a course everyone advised you to drop because they believe it’s only in your dream you can ever become a medical doctor docctor! Wow!
Imagine the joy, the ecstasy, the madness and the state of delirium you’d find yourself. You can’t stop the tears, the palpitation of your heart, the urinary urgency, the cold sweat breaking out of your forehead or your jaw threatening to drop off your mouth in awesome wonder.
Not only you, everyone – from your doubting father, to your scolding mother, your lousy siblings, teasing friends and mocking enemies, I mean every folk that never trusted you to do that in a life time would be rocked and displaced by that ball of fire.
They simply can’t help but rejoice with you -for those who truly love you or overly disturbed – for those who simply hate you.
You’ll suddenly become the darling of the family, the pride of the pack, and your father who never believe in you for once, will suddenly become a major distributor of your awesome result to kith and kins.
That’s exactly the case with this Super Falcons. That’s what the feelings are with the players, the feelings are with the coaches, the feelings are with the government (the father of the team),the feeling are with the NFF (the mother of the team), the feeling are with us, the fans, the siblings of the the team) and someone like Self-made (the enemy of the team)…lol.
I only have three exciting moments in my head when I felt exactly the way I felt the day the Super Falcons defeated Australia.
1. The day Nigeria beat Brazil at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 No one even remembers the gold-winning match against Argentina.
2. The day Migeria defeated Spain at the World Cup in 1998 after losing almost all our pre-tornanent matches and losing players like Jero Shakpoke and Daniel Amokachie to injuries.
3. The day Nigeria beat a star-studded Ivorian team complete with the likes of Yahaya Toure, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in the semi final of 2013 AFCON in South Africa. Reports had it that before that match, the NFF had already purchased the flight tickets of the players and their coaches back to Naija, to tell you thr gravity of a total lack of faith in the team.
Even if we did not go on to win the competitions like it happened in 1998 FIFA WC, the pride in those accomplishments was enough. So let’s cherish this moment. We simply don’t know when the next one will come.
I just pray the team can cap it all with at least a semi final or final ticket, making another history, after the exploits of Morrocco in the male version of the competition in Qatar last year
That is what I’m saying they should first get to the Semis at least then the world will speak for them. NFF is NFF they’ll remain the same no matter what so all the wasted energy to celebrate a win like a trophy is not a wise one, they should remain cautious because they’re not playing really spectacular despite shunning out this results if you follow their match stats against other opponents!!! But take nothing away from a winning team I give them the kudos despite the shambolic preparation….
Gift Monday is like Dessers. You can count on them when it is matter most.
If Waldrum wants a quick goal against Ireland, he should start Gift Monday, Kanu, and Oparanozie against Ireland. Onumonu and Asisat Oshoala should start from the bench.
Let’s make it out of the group stage first, and then we can begin to set a target for ourselves. Good luck, Super Falcons. God bless Nigeria!!!
Gift Monday is a bundle of talent. Footballer, dancer, comedian. Her tiktok videos are a source of great amusement to many.
When called upon, she will give her best.