Hopes of Nigeria’s Super Falcons of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil ended on Thursday after they lost 1-2 to South Africa in the Confederation of African Football play-off match at the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco.
The Falcons had missed out on an automatic World Cup ticket after their quarter-final defeat by Cameroon on Sunday.
The defeat to Cameroon also ended Nigeria’s run of reaching at least the semi-finals at every previous edition of the WAFCON and handed the 10-time African champions their worst-ever finish in the competition.
In spite of that, Nigeria had another opportunity to revive their hopes of maintaining their record of featuring at every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the Falcons were unable to overcome South Africa.
Following a goalless first half, Thembi Kgatlana broke the deadlock in the 56th minute before Refiloe Jane doubled South Africa’s advantage in the 77th minute.
The Super Falcons mounted a late rally after a VAR review awarded the Falcons a penalty and resulted in Jane being given a red card after a second yellow card.
Christy Ucheibe converted from the spot in added time to give Nigeria hope, but the Falcons could not find an equaliser as Banyana Banyana held on for victory.
South Africa, meanwhile, will advance to the intercontinental play-off tournament scheduled for November and December, where three teams will claim the remaining African tickets to the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
The 2026 tournament will be one to forget in a hurry for Nigeria, who came to Morocco off the back of a record-extending 10th triumph last year.
This year, Justine Madugu’s team began the tournament badly, losing 3-2 to WAFCON debutants Malawi on July 28.
The team recovered to beat Zambia 1-0 and Egypt 3-0, reaching the quarter-finals via a dramatic permutation but the 1-0 quarter-final defeat by Cameroon ended their title defence.
Apart from its failure to advance in the 2026 WAFCON, the defeat on Thursday means Nigeria will miss the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.