Chicago Stars FC's Michelle Alozie and Cruz Azul's Uchenna Kanu each scored as Nigeria beat Comoros 2-0 in the CAF qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Comoros came into the game with an astonishing 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan from the previous round, a margin that was deserving for respect on both sides of the ball, irrespective of the opposition.
And they showed why their rearguard was not breached over two legs of that round, keeping the 10-time African champions at bay for the entirety of the first half.
Their goalkeeper was mostly responsible for that, making multiple first half saves from Alozie, Rasheedat Ajibade and Kanu to deny the Super Falcons.
But their resilience was eventually breached in the second half. Three minutes after the break, Gift Monday headed a corner kick across goal for Alozie to finish from close range. The Chicago star arrived late in the box to poke past the goalkeeper to hand Nigeria the lead.
Kanu claimed the second 11 minutes later, meeting another corner kick from Jennifer Echegini with a glancing header to the far post.
Comoros barely threatened, spending most of the game in their own half as they defended desperately, but they did have their moments in transition. None of those ended up anywhere near Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie.
WAFCON issues persist
There may have been a change on the bench following their disastrous WAFCON campaign, but not much changed on the field, at least not on the evidence of Friday's game.
Some of the biggest issues the Super Falcons had in their ill-fated WAFCON campaign, was their inability to put a string of passes together consistently, create opportunities to score, and make good decisions in the final third.
All of those issues were again evident against Comoros. While they did keep the ball against a team that played with little to no ambition, they were prone to surrendering possession under minimal pressure.
And when they did create chances at the Comoros goal, they snatched at most of them rather than putting some combinations together to open up a team that was sitting in a low block.
The first goal by Alozie was evidence of just how much that would have worked. Gift, who has just joined the Boston Legacy from Washington Spirit, headed Echegini's corner kick back across goal for Alozie to finish.
Earlier in the game, captain Ajibade could have done the same after dusting her marker, but went for goal and the ball came off the post. In fairness to her, an inch or two on the right side, and that ball would have been nestling inside the net.
But a cutback would have been a near guarantee that either Monday, or Kanu would have met that ball for an easy tap in. Glory Ogbonna and Kanu were also in similar situations where an extra pass could have made a world of difference, but both took snatched shots that ended up on the wrong side of the net.
Left-back slot is filled
Speaking of carry-overs from WAFCON, left back was a major headache for Justin Madugu at WAFCON. In fact, it may even be argued that Madugu's inability to find a solution to the left back issue was a major reason for Nigeria's struggles at the tournament.
In the absence of the injured Ashleigh Plumptre, he made the choice of shifting Alozie -- a forward who was converted to makeshift right back by former coach Randy Waldrum -- to the position.
This despite having natural left backs Glory Ogbonna and Rofiat Imuran on the roster. That change meant that he was then forced to play Shukurat Oladipo, a natural centreback, at right back.
These decisions completely threw the dynamics of the back four off, with both options at fullback not only struggling to be effective, but targeted by the opposition, especially during the knockouts.
In his first game in charge, Eguavoen decided to trust Ogbonna in her position, and what a world of difference that made. The full back was not only being defensively astute, but did what a fullback does, regularly bombing forward to support Kanu ahead of her and putting herself in great situations in and around the box, with a constant goal threat.
Alozie was thus restored to her right back position, bringing balance to the back four despite a changed centreback pairing of Oladipo and Christy Ucheibe, playing together as a partnership for the first time.
Debutants impress
With a posse of players unavailable, especially in midfield where two of the team's top players, Esther Okoronkwo and Deborah Abiodun are out to injury, and Ucheibe had to be shunted to centreback with Tosin Demehin out and Osinachi Ohale retired, Eguavoen handed under 20 captain Joy Igbokwe her senior international debut.
The Falconets captain, who missed the FIFA U20 World Cup when her visa was denied, showed exactly why she was such a valuable piece of that team. She won duels with ease, kept her distribution simple, read the play and made interceptions when needed and was always available to cover for the any of the marauding defenders, especially the fullbacks.
Igbokwe was not the only Falconets debutant to impress. Also making her debut was Janet Akekoromowei, who was with the team in Poland. The forward came on as a late substitute and again, showed why she deserved her first international appearance.
The Benfica forward, who turns 19 next month, brought energy and a genuine goal threat to the game, with her movement, strength and a willingness to engage with the defence. Both players offered a glimpse of what the Super Falcons future looks like and on the evidence of their individual and combined displays, it is bright.