Super Falcons star Rinsola Babajide has expressed her joy, pride, and thankful heart for achieving something she deeply desired: scoring for her country in her first WAFCON match for Nigeria.
Rinsola Babajide’s WAFCON outing was nothing short of magical. She found the net and made it count in style as Nigeria smashed Tunisia 3-0 on Sunday night, Footballrover reports.
Rinsola Babajide makes WAFCON debut count with goal & assist
The 27-year-old winger wasted no time showing her quality in her first WAFCON match, first setting up Asisat Oshoala’s opener and then scoring herself before the first half ended.
For Rinsola Babajide, this moment was pure joy.
“A dream start & debut! Over the moon to have scored my first international goal for my country. What a feeling!!! Thank you, God, for giving us this day,” she shared with fans on her socials.
Babajide’s goal celebration: A touching tribute
But the goal meant even more. After beating the Tunisian goalkeeper with her left-footed strike, Babajide celebrated like her late Liverpool teammate, Diogo Jota. The tribute was heartfelt.
“It was for Diogo Jota and his brother as well. So that was like one of the biggest celebrations at the club,” she told journalist Victor Ademola.
She noted that they call it the signatory celebration, adding that she just wanted to do something for him.
The Nigerian forward explained that Jota was one of her favourite players at the club when she was there as well and “may the souls of both of them rest in peace.”
Her celebration connected her Liverpool past with her Super Falcons present. Between 2018 and 2022, Rinsola Babajide wore the same number 20 jersey Jota did.
Meanwhile, scoring on her WAFCON debut lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. She admitted it felt like relief more than anything because, despite previous assists, that first goal always escaped her — until now.
And she’s not done yet. For Rinsola, this is just the start. She wants to help the Super Falcons win the trophy, play better each game, and score more goals.
On top of everything, fans crowned her the Fans’ Player of the Match for Matchday 1 — the perfect reward for a player who gave her all.
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