Nigeria has announced a friendly international between the senior women's national football team, the Super Falcons, and France, in what will be a repeat of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup group game in which Ngozi Ebere was sent off and Wendie Renard converted a late penalty to hand Les Bleues a 1-0 victory.
The game will be played at Stade Raymond Kopa in Angers, France, on Nov. 30.
Nigeria, who are still without a permanent coach after the departure of Randy Waldrum, are coming off two friendly games against Algeria last month. The Super Falcons won both games, 2-0 and 4-1.
France, the world No. 10, will take the game as part of their preparations for the UEFA Women's Nations League next spring and the 2025 UEFA Women's European Championship in Switzerland in the summer, while the Super Falcons will welcome the encounter as part of the process for blooding a new squad in another test ahead of the 2025 Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco next summer.
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Ibrahim Musa Gusau told ESPN the friendlies for the nine-time African champions would serve those two objectives, especially after three losses in three matches at the Olympic Women's Football Tournament in France, and the departure of Waldrum.
"We took the decision to put a number of top-class games together for the rebuilding of the squad, to regenerate the team for future challenges," he said. "As you can see from the two matches against Algeria, there are a number of good players in the domestic league here in Nigeria, and they were able to showcase their talent and skills.
"The NFF will continue to package quality friendly games for the team in order to help the work of the new coaches, who must ensure we have a squad that not only maintains our high standards but also step up to the plate when bigger challenges come around."
Interim coach Justin Madugu will continue in his role for the game, and he is expected to name a strong squad that features some new faces.
Nigeria's Super Falcons have engaged in top-class international friendlies since 2019, starting with the Cyprus Cup that year when they played Austria, Slovakia, Belgium and Thailand ahead of the World Cup.
Two years later, after Waldrum's appointment, they faced CSKA Moscow, Uzbekistan, Equatorial Guinea and Jamaica at the Turkey Women's Tournament before playing friendly games in the summer against Portugal, United States and Canada in the build up to the African championship.
After the tournament, they played the USWNT in two friendlies, along with games against Japan, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica Haiti and New Zealand as they prepared for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Super Falcons, ranked No. 36 in the world, have never beaten a team in the top 20; the closest they have come is a 2-2 draw against Canada, although they defeated New Zealand, who have been ranked in the top 30.