WAFCON 2024: Nigeria, Cape Verde clash as 2nd round field completes 

**Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire miss out

By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau

As earlier predicated, Cape Verde has been confirmed as Nigeria’s next opponents in the second round of the Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2024 qualifiers after the first round matches have been concluded.

This is even as the second round of the WAFCON qualifiers’ field has been completed with the conclusion of the first round matches across African continent on Tuesday with the elimination of Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire being the biggest upsets of the 2024 edition of the biggest women’s football competition in Africa.

The islanders, as Cape Verde is known, narrowly avoided elimination after holding a three goals advantage courtesy of 3-0 victory over Liberia last week with a brace by Moreira (15′, 90+5′) and a goal by Pereira (53′) at Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, but will be in the draw.

In a fierce and intense match at Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia on Tuesday, Cape Verde also beat Liberia 2-3. Trailing by 3 goals, the Liberians looked for an early breakthrough but left gaps for their opponents.

Facing a faulty defence, Evy Pereira found the net first for the visitors in the 10′ before Agbotsu made up for this setback and leveled the match for Liberia in the 12′.

Cape Verde improved their attacking moves with Gomes and Borges scoring two more goals in the 23′, Kleydiana Borges 39′ which  sent the West Africans into orbit. Halima Kpan’s late goal in the 69′ did not change the fate of this game as the tie ended 2-3 with  Cape Verde going through on 6-2 aggregate scoreline.

Nigeria will now host Cape Verde in the next round at Mobolaji Johnson Stadium Onikan Lagos at a later date to be determined by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Elsewhere, Cameroon, four-time finalists of the WAFCON, will not play in next year’s tournament in Morocco after being eliminated by Kenya on Tuesday just as Cote d’Ivorie will also not be among the nations to play the tournament after they were also eliminated in the first round of qualifiers following the second leg matches. The Indomitable Lionesses lost on penalties to Kenya while Cote d’Ivoire suffered a similar fate in their match against Tanzania.

The WAFCON 2024 dream is over for the Indomitable Lionesses. Winner 1-0 in the first leg, Cameroon fell twice against Kenya. First in regulation time with Shilwatso’s goal, aided by an error from the Cameroonian goalkeeper, and then losing 4-3 in the fateful penalty shootout.

For the first time since 1991, the Indomitable Lionesses will not participate in the final phase of the WAFCON.

Kenya 1-0 Cameroon (agg 1-1) Kenya win 4-3 on penalties

Goal: Shilwatso 75′.

Worse still, after winning the first leg 2-0 at home, the Elephantes of Cote d’Ivoire fell to Tanzania in the return leg as a real bogeyman in women’s football on the continent, Cote d’Ivoire once again missed the chance to qualify for WAFCON as two goals by D. Minja 50′ and  O. Clement 52′ condemned the Ivorians to huge defeat. Tanzania 2-0 Cote d’Ivoire (agg 2-2) Tanzania wins 5-3 on penalties.

In Accra, nearly spelt Rwanda again as the visitors faced another thrashing by the Black Queens with the Ghanaians leaving no chance for the Rwandans, after beating them 7-0 at home in the first leg and 5-0 at home to qualify on   12-0 aggregate.

Goals: A. Kusi 22′ 26′ 37′, E. Badu 42′, S. Nyamekye 90+3′.

Also, Ethiopia was eliminated by Burundi as the adventure continues for Burundi. After conceding the opening goal, the Swallows went looking for qualification for the next round with guts. More realistic and experienced, Gustave Niyonkuru’s players were more focused during the penalty shootout to advance.

Ethiopia 1-1 Burundi (agg 2-2) Burundi wins 5-3 on penalties.

Nigeria’s next door neighbours Niger Republic were also walloped 1-5 by Tunisia as the Carthage Eagles Ladies, quarter-finalists of the last WAFCON continue on the road to Morocco 2024 without much sweat. Niger 1-5 Tunisia (agg 12-1).

Goals: A. Hamed 90′ / S. Ellouzi 9′ 49′, S. Mamay 15′, M. Houij 45+1, S. Zemzem 77′.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso also qualified for the next stage of the competition by beating Eswatini 3-0, as did Egypt who beat South Sudan 4-0. Draw between Algeria and Uganda 1-1.

In other matches, Congo beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 at the same time, Namibia defeated Gambia by the same score. These two winning teams will progress to the second round.

Other results are:

* Benin 1-2 DR Congo (agg 4-2)

Goals: Y. Gnanmi 5′ / M. Kanjinga 32′,  34′.

*Togo 6-0 Djibouti (agg 12-0)

Goals: S. Woedikou 4′, 15′, 40′, S. Koudjoukalo 31′, 89′, Lucie Gantim 66′.

The second round fixtures are:

Mali-Guinea

Senegal-Egypt

Kenya-Botswana

Nigeria-Cape Verde

Angola-Zambia

Ghana-Namibia

Burkina Faso-South Africa

Congo-Tunisia

Tanzania-Togo

Equatorial Guinea-DR Congo

Algeria-Burundi.