Super Falcons’ defence of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title came to an end on Sunday after Nigeria lost 1-0 to Cameroon in their quarter-final clash.
Myriam Maéva Nyadjou Wamen scored the only goal of the game in the 19th minute, giving Cameroon the lead and ultimately sending the Indomitable Lionesses into the semi-finals.
The Super Falcons tried to fight their way back into the game but could not find the equaliser as Cameroon held firm to protect their advantage.
The defeat brings Nigeria’s bid to retain the continental title to an end and also denies the nine-time African champions an automatic place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The Falcons, however, are not out of the World Cup race.
With the four semi-finalists earning direct qualification to the World Cup, Nigeria must now take the longer play-off route reserved for the quarter-final losers, where two teams will have another chance to secure a place at the global tournament.
That makes the defeat a costly one for the Falcons, who had hoped to combine another WAFCON title with an automatic World Cup ticket.
Nigeria’s next task will therefore be to recover quickly and navigate the play-off route successfully. Failure to do so would bring an end to the Falcons’ record of appearing at every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991.
For Cameroon, the victory carries a double reward. The Indomitable Lionesses have reached the WAFCON semi-finals and secured their place at the 2027 World Cup.