WAFCON 2026: Nigeria in Make or Mar battle against rampant Zambia in Game 2

By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Africa’s No.1 Women Football Journalist

Still licking the wound of the 3-2 defeat by debutants Malawi in the opening match of Group C last Tuesday at Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, Nigeria will have to evoke the spirit of her 5-0 annihilation of Zambia in the quarter-finals stage of the last Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) also in Morocco when both nations meet tomorrow in their second round match in Rabat.

The reigning African champions had a second half meltdown on Tuesday night in Rabat and paid dearly for it as the Chawinga sisters Tabitha and Temwa combined to score three goals against Nigeria’s two to run away with a 3-2 victory over their more illustrious opponents.

Thus the defeat of the 10-time champions by Malawi and Zambia’s 6-0 crushing of Egypt has left Nigeria in the third place on the table with zero point while  Zambia and Malawi are currently leading Group C with three points each.

This makes tomorrow’s  match a must win for the Justine Madugu led Super Falcons who were less than impressive in all the departments of the game in their last match against ‘The Scorchers’ of Malawi, who taught their lethargic opponents a football lesson on the night with their grab and smash style.

The Nigerian team will have to reorganise and restrategise as the Super Falcons will have their hands full against the revenge-seeking Copper Queens who lost woefully 5-0 to Nigeria in their last outing just one year ago.

Interestingly, coach Madugu has accepted blames for the loss to Malawi and has promised to make amends in the next game which has now come thick and fast when Nigeria and Zambia clash in Rabat tomorrow night.

Speaking in a post-match interview the Adamawa state -born coach said: “There will always be criticism and comments when things go wrong. We accept those things we  accept responsibility for whatever happened and we will try and work on it. Whatever mistakes that were made, the players are very flexible and we’ll correct them next time.

“It’s a wake-up call for all of us, and we know how important this edition is. We’re not taking anything for granted”.

Luckily, statistics showed that Nigeria and Zambia have met four times in WAFCON history, with the Super Falcons winning three of those clashes and the Copper Queens winning just once.

A breakdown of their previous meetings in  WAFCON are:

2014 Group Stage- Nigeria 6-0 Zambia

2018 Group Stage- Nigeria 4-0 Zambia.

2022 Third-Place Playoff- Zambia 1-0 Nigeria.

2025 Quarter-finals (played in July 2025)- Nigeria 5-0 Zambia.

On paper, Nigeria looks good to beat Zambia again tomorrow but football is like a piece of biscuits which can break into many pieces if it is broken. This means that nobody can predict what happens in a football match until the full time whistle.

However, if the performance of the Zambians in the first round game against Egypt, where their talisman Barbra Banda who scored four goals in the 6-0 walloping of hapless Egypt in Rabat on Tuesday, is anything to rely upon then Nigeria should watch it when both clash on Saturday.

This means that Madugu and his wards must sit up, avoid complacency and revive their dream of retaining their crown with securing three full points by beating Zambia no matter the scoreline in this make or mar encounter because anymore slip from the Super Falcons will result to early elimination from the competition.

Nigeria has the quality to beat any of the teams in the competition despite fumbling in the opening match considering the pedigree of the majority of the players in Madugu’s squad list except that they chose to stroll into their pre-tournament training camp in Casablanca ahead of the start of the biggest women’s football competition in Africa last Sunday.

Goalkeeper Chiamaka Cynthia Nnadozie can’t afford to be “unreliable” again for the second time in a week while the back four-Michelle Alozie, Shukurat Oladipo, Oluwatosin Demehin and veteran Osinachi Ohale-must wake up from their sleep.

Also, the uninspiring midfielders- Halimat Ibrahim Ayinde, Jennifer Onyinyechi Echegini and captain Rasheedat Ajibade- should better start clicking against Zambia just as the front three of Florence Ijamilusi, Veronica

 Chinwendu Ihezuo and Esther Okoronkwo need a little tweaking by the coach.

In all, the Super Falcons line-up Madugu paraded in the better forgotten first match against Malawi should be refreshed with more hungrier and  intelligent players who can deliver in a big occasion like the make or mar encounter against rampant Zambia.

This is the way to go.

Go Super Falcons!