England-based female striker, Ini Umotong is banking on the presence of American tactician, Randy Waldrum as the coach of Nigeria’s women national team, Super Falcons for her to get a recall to the squad, megasportsarena.com reports.
Despite missing out on the roster that represented Nigeria at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, the 26-year-old former Portsmouth and Brighton of England hitman declared that she is optimistic of returning to the international fold this year.
The all-action forward, who was also not invited for the 2020 Olympic Games qualifiers nor the recent Turkish Women’s Cup, is also pointing at her current top form with English lower division side, Lewes, as she outlined her plan in making a return to the Falcons.
Umotong, who turned professional with Portsmouth in 2014 and netted 54 goals in 45 outings for Pompey, earning a Nigeria call-up in the process, has scored thrice in four league outings so far this season, which gives he added confident that she can impress Waldrum.
With Pompey, she scored 54 goals in 45 outings and received a Nigeria call-up, going on to fulfill her national team dreams in 2015 and subsequently featured at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
After leaving Brighton in January 2020, the Calabar-born striker went on to enjoy a short spell at Vaxjo in Sweden, where she scored twice to help the Damallsvenskan side to top flight safety and, on her return to England this January, she teamed up on an 18-month deal with Lewes in the English Women’s Championship.
During her stint at Brighton, she earned a Nigeria recall for the pre-2019 World Cup camp and finally broke her international duck in a 3-0 win over Romania, but she was overlooked for the final squad.
While taking positives from the ups and downs of her career, Umotong admitted she is happy to be back ‘home’ in England, but stressed that her joy would only be complete once she achieves a return to the Falcons and relieves the experiences she gained with the team.
Umotong posited in a chat with goal.com: “I’d say it is a lot more mentally challenging than it is physically challenging. Form, especially as a striker, comes and goes. When you’re on form, it’s great, when you’re off form, it’s mentally trying to get back to the form you’re used to.
“The new coach I’ve spoken to, he reached out to me. I know he’s watching and monitoring me, so the better I can do, the better everything else falls into place for everyone. I’m just focusing on myself.
“That level as well as so much more rotation for the teams makes form even more mentally challenging for the striker. There were highs and lows in my performance and form, at that level, but all of those experiences I’ve learned. They’re all learning experiences and made me a better player.
“I’ve gone on to do better things since then but it all came from that spell at Portsmouth, that gave me the confidence to kind of push forward in my career. They’re unforgettable memories, something that will stick with me.
“That season at Portsmouth kind of propelled my career in football and just gave me the confidence to thrive through my playing career. I had a great experience in Sweden. I loved it, but the opportunity came up in England to study an MBA in Football Industries which I couldn’t pass up.”
