Nigeria’s Super Falcons will take on Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses in a high-stakes 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in Casablanca on Sunday, with a place in the last four and qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup at stake.
The encounter is scheduled for 6pm Nigerian time at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium. The winner will progress to the semi-finals and secure an automatic ticket to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, while the losing team will have to go through the African play-off route for another opportunity to qualify.
The Super Falcons, 10-time African champions and holders of the WAFCON title, had a mixed group-stage campaign.
Nigeria suffered a 3-2 defeat to tournament debutants Malawi in their opening match before responding with a narrow 1-0 win over Zambia. Asisat Oshoala scored the decisive goal despite the Falcons playing more than half of the encounter with 10 players following Oluwatosin Demehin’s dismissal.
The defending champions then delivered an impressive performance in their final Group C fixture, defeating Egypt 6-2. Six different Nigerian players got on the scoresheet as the Falcons secured second place in the group.
Cameroon, on the other hand, finished top of Group D without losing a match.
The Lionesses began with a 2-1 victory over Mali, with Marie Gisele Ngah Manga scoring twice. She was also on target in their 1-0 win against Ghana before Cameroon were held to a 1-1 draw by tournament debutants Cape Verde.
Nigeria and Cameroon last met competitively at the 2022 WAFCON, also in Casablanca. Rasheedat Ajibade scored in the 56th minute to send the Falcons into the semi-finals.
Super Falcons coach Justine Madugu said the team was determined to secure World Cup qualification before turning its attention to defending the continental title.
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“Our objective remains picking the World Cup ticket and then going ahead to retain the trophy. Nothing has changed,” Madugu told reporters in Casablanca on Saturday.
“We know what it means, and we will be ready for it.”
Midfielder Jennifer Echegini acknowledged that Nigeria needed to improve defensively but said the team had worked on the weaknesses exposed during the group stage.
“I feel like the teams we have faced have all gotten better as time and years have gone along,” Echegini told Elegbete TV.
“But definitely we have to look at ourselves and realise that some of the things that have happened, and some of the goals that have been scored, are quite unusual for us as a team.
“So we definitely worked on tightening the midfield, figuring out our back line, and other little stuff like that.”
Nigeria enter the contest as Africa’s top-ranked team and 36th in the world, giving them the advantage on paper. However, Cameroon’s unbeaten run in the group stage means the Falcons cannot afford to underestimate their opponents.
The Lionesses, who finished runners-up at the 2016 edition, have not returned to the WAFCON semi-finals since then and were absent from the 2024 tournament.
Sunday’s encounter therefore represents a significant opportunity for both teams, with a World Cup place and a spot in the continental semi-finals awaiting the winner.