Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff - USA Today Sports
Toni Payne competing with the Nigeria national team. Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff - USA Today Sports.
Toni and Nicole Payne made their Olympic debuts with the Nigeria Super Falcons women’s soccer team this past week.
The sisters, whose parents immigrated from Nigeria to the U.S., were stars at Oak Mountain High School in soccer, both leading the school to state championships.
Earlier this month Toni Payne signed with Everton of the WSL in England, while Nicole Payne is playing professionally with the Portland Thorns.
Nigeria drew one of the toughest groups in the competition landing Brazil, Japan and Spain in their group. The team held tough against both Brazil and Spain, losing 1-0 to both teams.
In both games Toni Payne has been starting in midfield while Nicole Payne has been used as a substitute defender.
The losses, though, have come against some of the best competition in the world.
The loss to Brazil last Thursday came as the legendary striker, Marta, was able to slot the ball past the goalkeeper during a defensive breakdown. The loss to Spain – the world’s No. 1 team and the defending World Cup holders – came as Spain scored on a free kick with only five minutes left in regulation on Sunday.
The next game will be on Wednesday when the Super Falcons take on Japan at 10 a.m. CDT.
Even though the team has lost its first two games, the Paynes are not out of the running for the next round. They will need a win against Japan and a Brazil loss to have a chance to move forward. That would put them in a three-way tie with goal difference determining which team would move to the next round.
