Madugu says Falcons need to do better

Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has shared his thoughts on the team’s performance after Nigeria beat Senegal 2-1 in an international friendly at the Remo Stars Sports Complex in Ikenne. He said there is still a lot of work to do before the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Asisat Oshoala scored first for Nigeria with a penalty in the first half. Toni Payne followed up with another goal, giving Nigeria a strong lead. But Sokhna Nogaye's long shot in the 86th minute made it a close finish.

Even though the nine-time African champions got the win and achieved their main goal of checking squad depth, Madugu admitted there were areas needing improvement.

"It’s a good result, and naturally, when you play any game, you always want to win. This is a preparatory game, and the aim is to assess our readiness, test the strategies we want to execute in the competition, and give players the opportunity to showcase what they can do to provide us with more options," Madugu said to official54fx.

"These are the matches we use to identify which players are fully ready for the WAFCON. It was not a bad game for us, but as you know, there is always room for improvement. Yes, we did well, but we know there is still a lot of work to be done."

The two teams will play again on Monday, June 8, in the second match of their friendly series as they both prepare for WAFCON.