Defending champions the Super Falcons of Nigeria, are set to take on 2022 bronze medalists Zambia, in their second Group C match of the 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
This matchup between these two giants will hold by 9:00pm (WAT), at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat and is expected to produce fireworks.
Nigeria lost their opening WAFCON match for the third time in four editions when they went down 3-2 to Malawi on matchday one.
Should Nigeria fail to win, it will be only the second time they have begun a WAFCON campaign without victory in either of their opening two games.
In the face of criticism following Nigeria’s shock loss to Malawi in their opener, head coach Justine Madugu responded to critics who heavily criticised his tactics and the team in general.
“We know what we’re doing. We’ve put the first match behind us. The atmosphere in the group is good, and we’re now looking ahead to Zambia,” the coach said. “People have the right to ask questions because we lost.”
“But it wasn’t the first match I’ve managed with this team. We’ve won many others. We know what we’re doing. We evaluate the players every day. Sometimes the choices work, sometimes they don’t.”
“I take full responsibility and I want to do better in the next match. It’s win or nothing. We know perfectly well what’s at stake,” Magudu highlighted.“We want to be at the World Cup.”
“And we will do everything to correct the mistakes of the first match. We identified what didn’t work. We also studied Zambia in detail and prepared a plan to counter their strengths.”
Zambia
Zambia, impressive in their opening 6-0 victory against Egypt, will face a Nigeria side with their backs against the wall after their surprising 3-2 loss to debutants Malawi.
The Copper Queens can take a decisive step towards the quarterfinals with a second consecutive win. And on the other side, the Super Falcons can no longer afford any mistakes.
Another defeat would mean their premature elimination – an unimaginable scenario for the reigning champions who are one of only two teams to compete in every WAFCON edition.
While Zambia approaches this match with confidence, coach Nora Häuptle is avoiding any over-optimism. She expects a strong response from the Nigerians.
“Nigeria will come with everything they have. They need to win to stay alive in this tournament,” warned the Swiss coach.
Despite the Super Falcons’ defeat to Malawi, she pointed out that their performance did not fully reflect their potential.
“They started their match against Malawi very well and created several chances. We know their strength and we know they are capable of raising their level,” Häuptle said.
“We are focused on ourselves. We have a very clear plan to face them. If it is executed precisely on the pitch, we are convinced that we can beat Nigeria. Zambia never plays for a draw. It’s not in our DNA. We always play to win.”
She also believes her team has made significant progress since their elimination against Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the previous edition; a heavy 5-0 defeat back then.
“We must be able to attack with intensity while remaining perfectly organised defensively. Our balance will be essential to prevent Nigerian counter-attacks,” Häuptle concluded.
Head To Head
Nigeria and Zambia will meet for the fifth time at the WAFCON. This will be their third group-stage encounter.
- They are meeting at a third successive edition of the finals.
- Nigeria have won three of their previous four meetings, with Zambia claiming one victory.
- The teams previously met in 2014, 2018, 2022 and at the last edition. Nigeria won the first two encounters, both group games, by scores of 6-0 and 4-0 respectively.
- Zambia defeated Nigeria 1-0 in the third-place play-off in 2022.
- Their most recent meeting saw Nigeria win 5-0 in the quarter-finals at the last edition. Nigeria led 3-0 at half-time through goals from Osinachi Ohale in the second minute, Esther Okoronkwo in the 33rd and Chinwendu Ihezuo in the 45th.
- Oluwatosin Demehin added Nigeria’s fourth goal in the 68th minute before Folashade Ijamilusi completed the scoring in second-half stoppage time.
- Nigeria have outscored Zambia 15-1 across their previous four encounters.
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