Nigeria's Ashleigh Plumptre said she's tired of hearing the same old stereotypes when people talk about African football teams.
Plumptre was part of the Nigeria side which took reigning European champions England to a penalty shootout in their last-16 tie at the World Cup on Monday. England won the shootout 4-2 though Nigeria had the chances to win the game in normal time.
"I'm so proud to be on this team," 25-year-old Plumptre said after the game.
"Everybody counted us out against England. I know we came into this game as underdogs.
"After this game, I am tired of people just saying that African teams are 'just strong' and 'just fast' and count us out of being technical or tactical.
"We just pushed England to the very end. I actually think we had better chances than them.
"It is a privilege to be on this team."
7 August 2023; Alessia Russo of England in action against Ashleigh Plumptre of Nigeria during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Round of 16 match between England and Nigeria at Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. Photo by Mick O'Shea/Sportsfile
Plumptre, who was born in Leicester and played at youth level for England, qualifies to play for Nigeria through her paternal grandfather. She made her debut for them last year.
“We made a statement here," she continued.
"We won’t be forgotten for what we’ve done and this will just be the foundation moving forward. Now we have expectations to get out of this group all the time. To push these teams all the time. We just need to keep believing in ourselves and get the backing we deserve and I think we can go a long way.”
Asked for her take on England's performance, former France international Laura Georges, speaking on the BBC's coverage of the game said: "I see it as Nigeria being really well organised, a really good team.
"People talk about African teams as being really physical. Nigeria was just a good team. They could even have won. They were ahead of the game and you guys (England) are lucky."
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