Sports Revelation Online ..breaking authenic sports reports
By Harry Awurumibe, Africa’s No.1 Women Football Journalist
As the second round second leg matches of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament African qualifiers come to an end today (Tuesday, October 13), Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Ivory Coast and the remaining countries in the race for the two African tickets look up to build on their first-leg performances and work hard to keep their Olympics qualification ambitions on track by securing a passage to the Third Round stage starting next year.
Already, four countries including two African power houses in women’s football Cameroon and Morocco have qualified for the next round without kicking a ball after their second round opponents chickened out of the qualifiers.
Morocco walked over Congo and also Cameroon over Guinea as their matches were cancelled following the withdrawals of Congo and Guinea from the competition. As a result, Morocco and Cameroon have progressed directly to the third round of the African Olympic qualifiers.
Also, free-scoring Kenya with 22-0 aggregate win over Seychelles and Angola that defeated Namibia 2-0 away from home yesterday at Estádio de 11 Novembro, Luanda, have qualified for the third round too.
But for Nigeria, the return leg against Comoros is more than an Olympic Games qualifier as it will be a battle for prestige for the Super Falcons after a disastrous outing at the last Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
The 10-time African champions was defeated 1-0 by Cameroon in the quarter-finals stage of WAFCON and failed to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Brazil directly and later lost to South Africa in the playoff which led to a national outcry and the resignation of erstwhile Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership.
However, with the Los Angeles Olympic qualifiers double-header against Comoros being the first competitive fixtures for the Super Falcons, the team which is currently under the tutelage of an interim head coach and former Super Eagles captain, Augustine Owen Eguavoen, is condemned not to qualify for another global football showpiece like the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
Happily, Eguavoen’s Super Falcons have responded positively in the first leg of Nigeria versus Comoros double-header last Friday at Remo Stars International Stadium, Ikenne. Nigeria ran away with a 2-0 victory over Comoros courtesy of goals by defender Michelle Alozie (48′) and Cruz Azul Femenil forward Uchenna Grace Kanu (60′).
Despite the low scoreline, the Super Falcons showed much hunger to get the job done on the day by firing on all cylinders although they met a determined Comoros side that came to frustrate the host team.
The “Born Again” Super Falcons with no fewer than eight home-based players and a good number of new invitees have the opportunity today to finish off Comoros when both files out again for the return leg match.
Luckily, caretaker coach (Eguavoen) has ruled out any change to his team’s game plan ahead of their 2028 Olympic Games qualifier with Comoros at the Remo Stars International Stadium in Ikenne-Remo., insisting that the primary objective is to secure victory.
Asked whether his side would focus on protecting their lead or push for more goals, Eguavoen stressed that the team’s approach would remain unchanged despite their advantage.
“Football is not an individual sport, it is collective. The game plan is still going to be the same, nothing changed,” the caretaker coach said at the pre-match press conference.
“We are home now. We are enjoying a two-goal advantage. I will try as much as possible to see how we can wrap it up by winning tomorrow’s game.
“I am interested in goals but structure of a team is what I’m really interested in to start with but the bottom line is to win, and we will try to do that tomorrow.”
It is gratifying to note that 27 of the invited players are available for selection against Comoros, with Eguavoen confirming that the Super Falcons have no injury concerns ahead of the second leg encounter.
The winner of the tie between Nigeria and Comoros will face Morocco in the third round of the African qualifying series for the women’s football tournament at the 2028 Olympic Games.
Elsewhere, Algeria with 8-0 first leg annihilation of Central African Republic (CAR) in the first leg will compound the woes of their hapless opponents at Stade du 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers while South Africa with 4 nil advantage over
Madagascar last week will complete the demolition in the return leg at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Other countries sure of reaching the third round are Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Malawi but Uganda with a slim lead of 2-1victory over Zambia at Hamz Stadium, Kampala last week and when Zambia hosts Uganda to at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, the Copper Queens will be playing the match of their lives if they must eliminate Uganda.
Conversely, 90 minutes will determine the faith of countries like Tunisia with a lone goal deficit versus Senegal; Ethiopia and Tanzania with slim margins against Rwanda and Botswana as any of these teams can still qualify at the end of today.
LA 2028 African Qualifiers Second-leg Fixtures, October 13, 2026
*Zimbabwe vs Malawi – 13:00, National Sports Stadium, Harare
*Tanzania vs Botswana – 13:00, Azam Complex Stadium, Dar es Salaam
*Equatorial Guinea vs Burkina Faso – 14:00, Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé
*Nigeria vs Comoros – 15:00, Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne
*Ethiopia vs Rwanda – 16:00, Dire Dawa Stadium, Dire Dawa
*South Africa vs Madagascar – 16:00, Free State Stadium, Mangaung
*Ghana vs Mauritius – 16:00, Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
*Senegal vs Tunisia – 17:00, Stade Me Abdoulaye Wade, Diamniadio
*Mali vs Benin – 17:00, Stade Mamadou Konaté, Bamako
*Algeria vs Central African Republic – 17:00, Stade du 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers
*Zambia vs Uganda – 18:00, Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola
*Côte d’Ivoire vs DR Congo – 19:00, Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan.