January was a promising month for Nigerian women’s football, with star strikers Asisat Oshoala and Uchenna Kanu sharing top spot in the African Women’s Power Rankings.
Our wide-ranging top 10 for the first month of 2022 features players plying their trade in Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France.
Established internationals from South Africa, Cameroon and Zambia have been selected alongside the six players who are either Nigeria stars or eligible to play for the Super Falcons.
1=Asisat Oshoala, Barcelona
Oshoala came back from injury in style as she bagged four goals and two assists in January, rounding it off with a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-0 Primera Iberdrola drubbing of Real Betis.
The Super Falcons striker turned home a Caroline Graham Hansen cross from Barcelona’s right for their first goal. The second was almost a carbon copy, but the ball came from Lieke Martens on the left this time.
Oshoala subsequently capitalised on a defensive lapse from Betis to snatch the ball and stroke home for the hat-trick on the stroke of half time. Fridolina Rolfö subsequently rounded off the rout with a fourth for the hosts.
Earlier in January, Oshoala scored in the 7-0 win over Granadilla Tenerife and assisted Lieke Martens in wins over Atlético Madrid and Sporting de Huelva. The 7-0 thrashing of Atléti handed Barcelona the Supercopa title, leaving us no choice but to allow Oshoala to share the spoils.
1= Uchenna Kanu, Tigres UANL
Kanu has been in red hot form in Liga MX Femenil, scoring four goals in January. The first was a 52nd minute header off a corner in a 1-1 draw with Deportivo Guadalajara and she followed that up with a hat-trick against Atlas in a 5-1 win.
The Super Falcons international opened the scoring in the 34th minute and doubled up two minutes later. She struck for the third time on the hour mark to score UANL’s fourth goal.
UANL are currently fifth in the Torneo Clausura. The top eight teams in the tournament will qualify for the next round, the Liguilla.
3. Jermaine Seoposenwe, Braga
South Africa’s Seoposenwe gets the bronze largely off the strength of her outstanding performance in Braga’s 9-0 thrashing of Ovarense, in which she scored, won a penalty, and picked up a whopping five assists.
Overall, it was a mixed month for Braga, who also walloped Ferreiras 11-0 and beat Albergaria 3-0 in a match which saw Seoposenwe pick up an assist, but were held to a 1-1 draw by Torreense and lost 1-0 to title rivals Benfica.
Having topped the North Division table in the regular season, Braga are fifth in Portugal’s Campeonato Nacional Femenino play-off round with seven points from four matches.
4. Rasheedat Ajibade, Atlético Madrid
Having rounded off last year with a brace in a 6-1 drubbing of Real Betis, Ajibade picked up where she left off by scoring twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Villarreal on Jan. 12.
Six days later, the Super Falcons starlet momentarily went from heroine to villain as she received two yellow cards in the 3-2 win over Sporting de Huelva.
Ajibade could hardly be blamed for the 7-0 Supercopa final drubbing suffered at the hands of a rampant Barcelona in a match which saw her make a brief cameo appearance off the bench.
Las Rojiblancas currently sit third in the Primera Iberdrola standings with a crucial clash against second-placed Sociedad on Feb. 6 approaching.
5. Ajara Nchout, Inter Milan
Nchout has featured consistently in our top 10 since her move to Inter Milan due to her impressive goalscoring exploits with the Italian giants.
The Cameroon striker was on target again in the 1-1 Coppa Italia quarter-final first leg draw with Juventus. Unfortunately for Inter, her 72nd minute opener was cancelled out by a stoppage time equaliser from Lisa Boattin.
Inter are fifth in Serie A, with Nchout having contributed five league goals in nine appearances on top of her cup exploits. If the Nerazzurre are to challenge the league’s leading pack and sneak past Juventus in the Coppa Italia quarter-final second leg in two weeks’ time, they are going to need Nchout to be at her best.
6. Toni Payne, Sevilla
Nigeria international Payne continued her consistent run of form for Sevilla in January, scoring in their 3-1 Primera Iberdrola win over Valencia.
US-born Payne came on for Débora García in the 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano and came off the bench again against Valencia, this time replacing Inma Gabarro and scoring Sevilla’s third goal in the 65th minute.
The winger forward earned her spot in the starting lineup against Real Madrid, but Sevilla fell to a 3-1 defeat.
Payne has four goals from 18 appearances this season — one short of her tally for the entire 2020/21 campaign.
7. Vicky López, Madrid CFF
López, who is eligible to represent both Nigeria and Spain, has had a remarkable start to life in Madrid’s first team, aged just 15.
On Jan. 8, she assisted Cristina Librán’s 83rd minute equaliser in the Primera Iberdrola clash with Sevilla.
Having received the ball from Nigeria icon Rita Chikwelu, López beat her marker and picked out Librán at the far post for the goal.
A late Elisa del Estal winner saw Sevilla clinch the three points, but López remains a tremendously positive influence on her more experienced colleagues.
8. Chiamaka Nnadozie, Paris FC
Nnadozie enjoyed another solid month between the sticks for Paris FC, who are behind only giants Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain in the French Division 1 Féminine.
The Nigeria international started the 1-0 win over Issy and 3-1 victory over Soyaux to consolidate her team’s strong position in the league.
Although she did not start Paris’ most recent game, a 5-1 Coupe de France drubbing of Le Havre, she looks as if she is the clear first-choice goalkeeper for league outings at the tender age of 21.
9. Jeannette Yango, Fleury 91
Another African player making a significant defensive contribution in France is Fleury 91 and Cameroon defender Jeannette Yango, who scored the winner in her team’s 1-0 away triumph over Stade de Reims, ensuring they ended January in fourth place in the Division 1 Féminine.
Yango subsequently played the full 90 minutes of Fleury’s 4-1 Coupe de France win over Strasbourg.
Four points behind third-placed Paris FC with a game in hand, Fleury are well in the race for the final UEFA Women’s Champions League position with the top two already all but home and dry.
10. Racheal Kundananji, Eibar
Zambia’s Kundananji got off the mark for Eibar at a critical moment as she scored her first Spanish top flight goal to hand them a vital 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Kundananji also started the 2-1 win over Madrid which saw Eibar end January five points clear of the relegation zone and on course to survive another season in the Primera Iberdrola.
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