Defending and 10-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions Nigeria have been handed a shocking early exit from the 2026 tournament in Morocco, forcing the side into a do-or-die play-off for a shot at extending their unbroken streak at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In a tense last-eight clash in Casablanca on Sunday, Cameroon pulled off one of the biggest upsets of this year’s Wafcon, securing a 1-0 victory over the fancied Super Falcons. The decisive goal came from teenager Myriam Nyadjou, who converted a first-half free-kick to put the Indomitable Lionesses ahead. Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina then delivered a player-of-the-match performance, pulling off a series of stunning late saves to fend off waves of Nigerian attacks and protect her side’s narrow lead.
By advancing to the Wafcon semi-finals, Cameroon has secured automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted in Brazil. They join fellow semi-finalists Algeria, Malawi and hosts Morocco in booking their spot at the global tournament. This exit marks Nigeria’s worst ever performance at a Wafcon finals, ending their reign as the continent’s most dominant women’s football side and guaranteeing a new name will be etched onto the trophy when the 2026 tournament concludes this Sunday.
For Nigeria, the result snaps their automatic qualification streak for the World Cup. The side, which has competed at every edition of the Women’s World Cup dating back to the inaugural tournament in 1991, will now face 2022 Wafcon champions South Africa in a continental play-off this Thursday at 20:00 GMT. The winner of that match will advance to the inter-confederation qualifying stage later this year, where they will compete for one of the final remaining spots at the expanded 32-team 2027 World Cup.
Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie said her side must completely reset their approach ahead of the must-win play-off. “What happened happened, we just have to keep our heads high. There’s still hope – it’s not over yet,” Nnadozie told BBC World Service. She added that head coach Justin Madugu has worked to lift the squad’s morale following the upset, saying: “On Thursday we’ll go out strong, we’ll try to do better than we’ve done [against Cameroon] and hope to get to the next stage of the World Cup. We will go there and make things right.”
Midfielder Jennifer Echegini echoed that defiant tone, noting that Nigeria dominated possession and created plenty of goal-scoring chances against Cameroon, but was simply unlucky not to find the back of the net. “I think honestly [it was] one of our better games. We created a lot more opportunities. The ball just didn’t go the way we wanted it to. But it’s not over yet. Unfortunately, it is for the Wafcon. But in terms of World Cup qualifiers, there’s still a lot to fight for,” Echegini said.
For Cameroon, the win marks a long-awaited return to the Women’s World Cup, with the side’s last appearance at the global tournament coming in 2019. Forward Naomi Eto acknowledged that the side adopted a defensive, counter-attacking approach against the more fancied Nigerian side, but said the result was no less deserved. “We can say it was an ugly win because they attacked a lot, but we were very, very strong defensively,” Eto told the BBC. “[It has] always been a dream to play the World Cup. We’ve been waiting for this moment for the longest [time] and it’s finally arrived.”
In the other Wafcon semi-final fixture, hosts Morocco – who finished as runners-up at the past two tournaments – will face Cameroon on Wednesday, with Algeria and Malawi clashing later the same day to decide the second finalist. In addition to the Nigeria-South Africa play-off, Thursday will also see Ghana face Ivory Coast for the second African spot in the inter-confederation qualifying. The two African play-off winners will join eight other nations from confederations around the world in the inter-confederation tournament, which kicks off with a preliminary stage in November and December this year. A final qualifying round scheduled for February 2027 will decide the last three teams to book their place at the World Cup, which opens in Brazil on June 24, 2027.