Nigeria’s Super Falcons got their 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign off to a great start on Friday, defeating the Republic of Benin 2-0.
The nine-time African champions controlled the match at the Stade de Kégué in Lome, Togo, with Chinwendu Ihezuo and Esther Okoronkwo scoring to give them a first-leg advantage.
The match was played on neutral ground since Benin’s home stadiums were declared unsuitable for CAF standards.
Nigeria demonstrated their desire early in the encounter, with Rasheedat Ajibade’s lob hitting the crossbar after 10 minutes and Folashade Ijamilusi forcing a fantastic stop from Benin’s goalkeeper shortly after.
The Falcons took the lead in the 24th minute as Deborah Abiodun threaded a precise pass to Ihezuo, who calmly lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.
Just before halftime, Abiodun was back in the mix, dishing out her second assist of the day. Her pass found Esther Okoronkwo in the penalty area, and the forward finished calmly to make it 2-0.
The Falcons maintained their lead in the second half, controlling play and restricting Benin’s attacking threat to a few half-chances as they eased to a comfortable victory.
However, the Amazons had their first glimpse of the Nigerian goal in the 36th minute, when Moumouni received a pass on the byline and managed to slip past Osinachi Ohale to strike, only to be denied by goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie.
Nigeria will host the reverse match on Tuesday at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta, Ogun State, with the goal of securing qualification for the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco.
The continental competition is planned to take place between March 17 and April 3, 2026.
