Instead of seeing her post what was admittedly a memorable post-match interaction with the star player of the opposition Brazil, the fans of Nigeria women’s national football team currently playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics in France think a sober response by the midfielder Deborah Abiodun after losing to the Latin Americans would have been better than what social media showed.

Even after conceding to Brazil in the 37^th minute of both teams’ first Paris2024 soccer match, Nigerians who watched the game go live on Thursday 25 July – a day before the Olympics formerly opens – felt their Super Falcons delivered a strong output in the match by limiting the scoreline to just one goal against the very experienced side.

The after-game reaction at first questioned the decision of the Falcons’ head coach Randy Waldrum to exclude the United States National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Bay FC striker Asisat Oshoala from the starting line-up, then it shifted to the insensitivity of mistimed Pittsburgh Panthers Abiodun tweet about meeting the revered Brazilian forward Marta Vieira da Silva.

Unlike Deborah Abiodun who plays in the lower Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) sporting division and who is sometimes known as the Super Falcons’ Kante because of her athleticism and control of the midfield, Marta plays in the NWSL the way the benched Oshoala does. This contributed to the state of fandom Kante found herself after a picture was taken of her chatting with arguably women’s football greatest player.

Marta’s records show her winning The Best FIFA Women’s Player award six times, more than any other player in the world since stocktaking started 23 years ago.

It happened that Martha’s midfield opponent Kante fancies herself towing similar achievements in the future. This much was revealed in her tweet which reads: A moment to remember! Last night, I had the honour of chatting with the one and only @martavieiras10 whose legacy has inspired generations. Sharing wisdom, experiences, and smiles with such an icon is truly unforgettable. Here’s to chasing dreams and making history!

To the Nigerian football fans watching the picture of their midfielder paying more attention to a top star in the game over mourning their 2024 Paris Olympics defeat, that doesn’t represent passion. They think it reflects personal interest dominating commonly shared national objectives that led every Super Falcons representative to the Olympic Games.

I’m happy you met her. She’s a legend and you were superb in the game. Not sure about the timing of this post, reads Cleo’s tweet commenting on the on-pitch fanship that was going on between a Brazilian and Nigerian national team jersey.

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Even though others made excuses, the profile Cleo insisted that emotional intelligence from national team players was important, especially after a game they had just lost. It’s her first post after the loss. I’ve never played professionally but I know a loss stings even after 24 hours. A line saying ‘Difficult game but we are determined more than ever’ isn’t bad.

On average, most Super Falcons fans did not take the event to heart. They were willing to make excuses for raw talent still in her grooming stage – one that will hopefully mould into a firm shape in a few years or months. Deborah Abiodun represents this to fans. This is why no matter the timing of Kante’s networking, be it fitting or not, there is an agreement that she has been very useful to the team and their coach Randy Waldrum who also manages her at Pittsburgh Panthers.

Another match with Spain at the Paris2024 Olympics will get underway come Sunday, 28 July. It is likely to be a difficult game for the Super Falcons once again against a formidable European team that already snatched a 2-1 win from Japan when they played today.

In this fixture, Kante must be careful not to reenact a red card dismissal against Canada at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Kante and her teammates will be wary when they meet the current title holder Spain for a tough test two days from now.