Rita Chikwelu says the Super Falcons will be ready in time for the 2019 Women's World Cup after their not too impressive outing at the Cyprus Women's Cup.
After beating France-bound Thailand 3-0 on Wednesday, the Super Falcons finished seventh in their maiden campaign in Cyprus, where they won twice and lost twice.
The African champions had began the tournament with a 4-1 thrashing against Korea DPR before claiming a 4-3 win over Slovakia but bowed in a final group C 1-0 loss to Belgium.
Having scored three goals in six games for Nigeria in 2019, the 31-year-old is delighted by her good form, while remaining upbeat on the Super Falcons' readiness for the championship.
"It was an encouraging result. We’re all happy that we won games against Slovakia and Thailand," Chikwelu told Goal.
"I’m so happy that I also scored during the tournament. We are not happy to have conceded eight goals in four games, but we came here to improve before the Women's World Cup as well as know the areas we need to work on.
"Against Slovakia, we started very well in the first half and it was not that we didn’t play well because everyone in the team gave their best. It was important we won the match.
"We had a good performance against Belgium, though we lost narrowly and as well did better in our last match against Thailand, scoring three goals.
"We keep getting better in every game and I believe we will improve with every game we play. We will need to continue playing together as a team as well as the instructions of the coaches. Nigerians should not panic. We will be ready for the World Cup."
Chikwelu has scored five games in eight games for both club and country in 2019 and will return for Kristianstad's crucial Swedish Cup clash with Rosengård in Malmo on Sunday.
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