SUPER Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has apologised to Nigerians and accepted responsibility for Nigeria’s disappointing quarter-final defeat to Cameroon at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, insisting that the team will regroup and fight to secure a place at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup through the playoff route.
News Point Nigeria Sport reports that Nigeria’s hopes of securing an automatic ticket to the 2027 World Cup were dashed after Cameroon secured a 1-0 victory in Casablanca, with Maéva Nyadjou’s free-kick proving decisive.
The defeat means the Super Falcons must now navigate the African playoff route for one of the remaining opportunities to qualify for the tournament in Brazil.
Speaking after the match, a visibly disappointed Madugu apologised for failing to deliver the result Nigeria needed, while acknowledging the pain the defeat would cause supporters across the country.
“First of all, I want to apologise to Nigerians over our inability to win today’s game, which would have qualified us for the World Cup. It was not our intention,” Madugu said.
“The ladies did the best that they could, but that’s the way the game was destined to go.
“We apologise, and I take responsibility for that. We still have a second chance, and we will do our best to see what comes out of it.”
Madugu was also questioned about Nigeria’s late substitutions and an incident involving Esther Okoronkwo and experienced forward Asisat Oshoala towards the closing stages of the match.
Okoronkwo had an opportunity to equalise but opted to go for goal rather than pass to Oshoala, who appeared to be in a better position to score. Her decision prompted a visible reaction from the experienced forward.
Asked whether the incident reflected any division within the squad, or whether incentives reportedly promised to the players by the National Sports Commission had influenced their decisions, Madugu dismissed the suggestions.
“To the best of my mind, the girls, there’s no problem in the camp. There are no camps within the girls,” he said.
“They are all on the same page. They have been working together, cooperating. It’s just one of those things that can happen in the course of a game.
“I’m sure she felt she could score. That was why she made the attempt and probably would have passed the ball to Asisat, who was in a better position to score. But that is not to say there is any division amongst them.
“There is no division in the team. And again, well, I wouldn’t attribute that to the promises made by the National Sports Commission.”
Rather than blame the result on internal problems, Madugu said Nigeria’s failure to convert its opportunities ultimately proved costly.
The coach argued that the Super Falcons actually created more chances against Cameroon than they had in their previous matches, but failed to take advantage of them.
“In all the games they played, they never created the kind of chances they created today,” he said.
“But it’s just that the conversion was not right, and we were not precise and clinical with our finishing. And that accounted for why we couldn’t score the goals from the chances that were created. It’s just one of those things that happen in football.”
With Nigeria’s opportunity for direct qualification gone, Madugu acknowledged the disappointment surrounding the result but insisted that the Super Falcons still had a route to the World Cup and would fight to take it.
“I quite understand the pains everybody is going through. We all know what it means for all of us as a country. And as I said, I apologise and take responsibility for that,” he said.
“But we still have a second chance, and we’ll give it our all to make sure that we do not disappoint and go the same way that the men took.
“We will do our best and try to get it right to make sure that we go through the playoffs.”
The Super Falcons coach also gave credit to Cameroon for their defensive organisation and overall performance, while maintaining that Nigeria had enough opportunities to win the contest.
“I would like to give the Cameroonian team credit. I would like to congratulate the Cameroon team. They won their game today,” Madugu said.
“They came in via sort of the highest, one of the best-ranked teams in the tournament. And for their group, they won their two games and drew with Cape Verde in a match that did not really matter for their position.
“And for today, they did the best they could. They defended very well. But in spite of all that, we still created a lot of chances, which, if we had converted, the result would have been different.
“But that is not to say you take anything out from the effort, the energy they also expended in trying to make sure they had the game and get the result we didn’t get.
“So I give them credit for it, and we see how it goes.”
Nigeria will now turn its attention to the playoff, where South Africa await as another major hurdle in the Super Falcons’ quest to reach the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Madugu said the technical crew would conduct a detailed assessment of the team before preparing for the crucial encounter.
“Yeah, we get another game, playoff of a second chance against South Africa. We go back, watch all the games still and then come up with a plan where we know it can help us because we cannot afford to drop that second opportunity.
“We have to give it all our best.”
The defeat could also lead to changes within the team, with Madugu admitting that the technical crew would have to assess every aspect of the Super Falcons’ performance, including the possibility of introducing new players.
“It’s quite natural that when things like this happen, you have to do an overall assessment of the team. What went wrong? What did we do well? Where did we get it wrong?” he said.
“We have to do an overall assessment and then see what we can do within the shortest possible time before the next game against South Africa.
“There’s nothing bad in exploring other players.”
Madugu also defended goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie following her involvement in the decisive moment, insisting that one mistake should not overshadow the goalkeeper’s quality and contribution to the team.
“Chiamaka has been a wonderful goalkeeper, not only in the national team, but even in a club. But like you are saying, anybody can make mistakes at any time, and then it could be costly, just as it was costly for us today.
“But that is not to say she’s a bad goalkeeper. It’s just one of those things that’s meant to be.”
The coach also returned to Nigeria’s defensive struggles and pointed to the absence of Ashleigh Plumptre as one of the factors the team has had to contend with.
“It’s the same players that played last year that were not conceding goals. It’s the same players, the same group of players. Only one person is missing.
“Only Ashleigh Plumptre. And Ashleigh was playing from even the left fullback position. It was only Ashleigh.
“So, I mean, it’s something that we’ve been bothered, we’ve worried about it. We’ve been doing a lot to try and fix all this. But like I said, it’s just one of those things and we still have to continue to work.
“It’s still a work in progress.”
Despite the quarter-final defeat, Madugu rejected suggestions that Nigeria’s attacking approach was entirely responsible for the loss, explaining that opportunities could emerge from different areas of the pitch.
Cameroon ultimately scored from a set-piece, while Nigeria struggled to convert the chances it created.
“They got a goal from a set-piece, and it ended the game. So, chances can come from different aspects of the game, not necessarily just through build-up play,” he explained.
“We still had chances, a few chances that were created through the middle, but they had a good plan of trying to ensure that they block the central area, which assisted them.
“We equally had our own plan of ensuring that we go through the wings, and we were still creating chances from those wings. It’s not as if we didn’t have a plan to ensure that we could also go through the middle.”
He specifically pointed to Okoronkwo’s late opportunity as evidence that Nigeria were still capable of creating openings through the middle.
“The chance Esther got, the final ball that came, it was not from the wing. It came through the middle,” Madugu said.
“So, sometimes when games go like this, it has a different way of interpretation, and then you just have to take it the way it is.
“It was not our intention that the game should go the way it went. If we had been more clinical, the result would have been different.”
With Nigeria’s World Cup hopes now resting on the playoff route, Madugu acknowledged that the margin for error had become even smaller.
He insisted, however, that the Super Falcons would not allow the disappointment in Casablanca to derail their ultimate objective.
“Going forward, like I said, as long as there is still an opportunity, we cannot afford to drop our guard,” he said.
“We will learn from this and go back and continue to work to make sure that we exploit the second chance that we have.
“We cannot give up. We must continue the fight.”