The players and officials of Nigeria’s nine-time African champions, the Super Falcons, have begun arriving in Angers, France, ahead of their highly anticipated international friendly against Les Bleues on Saturday.

This encounter marks only the second friendly between the two sides, the first being an unforgettable 8-0 defeat for the Falcons in freezing conditions at Le Mans on April 6, 2018. From that squad, only goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie and defender Osinachi Ohale remain. That heavy loss, which included a Valérie Gauvin hat-trick and an own goal by Faith Ikidi-Michael, equaled the Falcons’ heaviest defeats—against Norway at the 1995 FIFA World Cup and Germany in a 2010 friendly.

However, their World Cup meetings have been far more competitive. Nigeria narrowly lost 1-0 to France in group-stage clashes at the 2011 World Cup in Germany and the 2019 tournament hosted by France.

This match is part of the Nigeria Football Federation’s strategy, under Ibrahim Musa Gusau, to rebuild the Super Falcons by exposing younger players to high-level competition. It follows an underwhelming performance at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament and recent friendly wins against Algeria’s Green Ladies (2-0 and 4-1).

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Scheduled to kick off at 9:30 pm local time (the same as Nigerian time), the match will serve as vital preparation for next summer’s Women’s AFCON in Morocco, where Nigeria will face Tunisia, Algeria, and Botswana in the group stage.