Nigerian-born England women’s international star, Eniola Aluko, who recorded her 92nd cap in the colours of the English national soccer team in the match against France at the Canada 2015 FIFA World Cup has expressed her delight in the rapid achievements of Nigerian female sensation, Asisat Oshoala.
Aluko said: “I am hoping I can become the second England Women’s Super League (WSL) scorer in the tournament after Nigeria and Liverpool striker Asisat Oshoala beat me to the punch by scoring against Sweden.
“It didn’t surprise me that she made such an impact in the 3-3 draw against a team who are fifth in Fifa’s rankings and one of the top teams in this tournament.
“She’s only 20 but poses that sort of threat in the WSL all the time. She has that brutal combination of being very direct, quick and powerful and she showed that when she knocked Sweden’s Nilla Fischer, one of the strongest players in the game, off the ball for Nigeria’s first equaliser.”
Aluko noted that Nigeria were great to watch and although everybody has their opinions about them being disorganised and defensively weak, I think they proved that attack is sometimes the best form of defence.
“Playing Nigeria would be an interesting one for my family as my parents are from there and I was born in Lagos too, but I think I’ve swung them England’s way now.”
The England star also reflected on her teams defeat by France, the benefits of a football family and looks ahead to Saturday’s match against Mexico.
“One of the people I spoke to after the France game was my brother, Hull striker Sone Aluko, and it definitely helps when you can talk to someone who understands the game from a tactical point of view.
“Yes, we lost 1-0 and we had a game plan where I had to sacrifice some of what I like to do as a forward, but the measure of success for someone in my position is not always scoring goals or getting assists. You also have to do a job for the team.
“Sone has played as lone striker many times in his career too so knew my role. He was positive about by my defensive work, as was England head coach Mark Sampson, and he encouraged me to take confidence into the next game against Mexico on Saturday.”
She added: “I always like to watch the game back as quickly as possible and am quite self-critical in terms of how I can improve for next time. So the fact that I can discuss different game plans with Sone really helps. In tournaments as big as the World Cup it is nice to have an honest and knowledgeable voice on the end of the telephone sometimes.
“Although a lot of what we planned against France worked, you may have seen that I was upset and disappointed at the final whistle on Tuesday. That was me just being emotional Eni for a little bit. We have been through so much to get to this point and when you have worked so hard, built up all those emotions and lost the game, sometimes it all just comes out. The success of this team means a lot to me.”
