The Super Falcons crashed out of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil on Thursday when they fell 2-1 to South Africa in the Confederation of African Football play-off at the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco.
The Falcons missed out on an automatic World Cup ticket after losing to Cameroon in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
The defeat against Cameroon also stopped Nigeria’s streak of reaching at least the semi-finals in every previous WAFCON, giving the 10-time African champions their lowest-ever finish in the championship.
However, Nigeria had another opportunity to renew their hopes of retaining their record of participating in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the Falcons were unable to beat South Africa.
After a goalless first half, Thembi Kgatlana scored in the 56th minute, and Refiloe Jane extended South Africa’s lead in the 77th minute.
Nigeria rallied late after a VAR review granted the Falcons a penalty, which led to Jane getting sent off.
Christy Ucheibe converted a penalty in extra time to give Nigeria hope, but the Falcons were unable to equalize as Banyana Banyana won.
Nigeria will not compete in the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil as a result of their defeat.
Meanwhile, South Africa will proceed to the intercontinental play-off round in November and December, when three teams will compete for the remaining African seats to the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria will quickly forget the 2026 tournament, which came to Morocco following a record-breaking 10th victory last year.
This year, Justine Madugu’s team began the competition poorly, falling 3-2 against WAFCON debutants Malawi on July 28.
The Falcons returned to overcome Zambia 1-0 and Egypt 3-0, advancing to the quarter-finals via a spectacular permutation, but a 1-0 quarter-final loss to Cameroon terminated their title defense.
