The BBC and African Women Player of the Year, Asisat Oshoala, has urged the Super Falcons attackers to adopt the playing style of the Spanish giants, Real Madrid, against their American foes at the ongoing Women World Cup in Canada.
Oshoala believes she and her teammates have what it takes to reach the Round of 16.
“I want us to play like Real Madrid’s forwards!” Oshoala says through her laughter. “They’re very, very good, Benzema, Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
“We can be similar to them and I’d like us to play just like them as much as possible. As a front three we can be very dangerous and if we try to be like them, we’ll go very far in this tournament!”
Despite all of the accolades she has recently earned and the attention she has received from all corners of the planet, Oshoala has been finding it difficult to enjoy herself during her first Women’s World Cup so far.
“I have learned a lot of things about myself as a player,” Oshoala told FIFA.com after her team’s 2-0 loss to Australia.
“This is a big tournament with much stronger competition. When you play at the under-age tournament, and then you come to the senior World Cup, you see it’s much harder. So, you just have to adapt to it.
“My style of play can’t always be the same. I need to find different ways to change my attacking patterns so I can get behind the backline.”
Oshoala has had a pretty spectacular 12 months by anyone’s standards.
The Ikorodu, Lagos State native took home both the adidas Golden Ball and the Golden Boot at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 en route to a second-place finish with the Super Falconets in August of last year, while just last week she scored in her senior Women’s World Cup debut.