World Kicks: Let’s Talk About 6, Ebi… (Onome Ebi Interview)

Twenty years after her World Cup debut, Nigeria’s captain is chasing a sixth, a total only Christine Sinclair, Marta and Cristiane can also reach. Onome Ebi is already Africa’s only footballer of either sex to have played at five, and says she never expected to get this far. She remembers being nineteen and terrified in 2003, costing a goal against Korea DPR and crying all day, and shivering at the sight of Mia Hamm. France 2019 is her favourite tournament because she went into it being told she was too old at 36 and proved otherwise. She left Levante Las Planas to protect her mental health, praises Ashleigh Plumptre’s refusal to give up, and insists Nigeria are worth worrying about this time.