Super Falcons Coach Madugu Takes Blame After Loss to Cameroon

Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has apologized to Nigerians. He took responsibility for Nigeria’s disappointing quarter-final loss to Cameroon at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. He said the team will fight to secure a spot at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup through the playoffs.

Nigeria’s chance for an automatic ticket to the 2027 World Cup ended after Cameroon won 1-0 in Casablanca. Maéva Nyadjou’s free-kick made the difference.

This defeat means the Super Falcons must now take the African playoff route to qualify for the tournament in Brazil.

After the match, a visibly upset Madugu apologized for not delivering the result Nigeria needed.

“First of all, I want to apologise to Nigerians over our inability to win today’s game, which would have qualified us for the World Cup. It was not our intention,” Madugu said.

“The ladies did the best that they could, but that’s the way the game was destined to go.

“We apologise, and I take responsibility for that. We still have a second chance, and we will do our best to see what comes out of it.”

No Division Among Players

Madugu was also asked about Nigeria’s late substitutions and the incident with Esther Okoronkwo and Asisat Oshoala near the end of the match. Okoronkwo had a chance to equalize but chose to shoot instead of passing to Oshoala, who seemed better positioned to score. This decision drew a noticeable reaction from the experienced forward.

When asked if there were divisions in the squad or if promised incentives from the National Sports Commission affected their decisions, Madugu dismissed the idea.

“To the best of my mind, the girls, there’s no problem in the camp. There are no camps within the girls,” he said.

“They are all on the same page. They have been working together, cooperating. It’s just one of those things that can happen in the course of a game.

“I’m sure she felt she could score. That was why she made the attempt and probably would have passed the ball to Asisat, who was in a better position to score. But that is not to say there is any division among them.

“There is no division in the team. And again, well, I wouldn’t attribute that to the promises made by the National Sports Commission.”

Madugu blamed Nigeria’s failure to convert chances. He insisted the Super Falcons created more opportunities against Cameroon than in their earlier matches.

“In all the games they played, they never created the kind of chances they created today,” he said.

“But it’s just that the conversion was not right, and we were not precise and clinical with our finishing. And that accounted for why we couldn’t score the goals from the chances that were created. It’s just one of those things that happen in football.”

Staying Positive for the Playoffs

With Nigeria’s chance for direct qualification gone, Madugu recognized the disappointment around the result. Still, he promised the team would make the most of their second chance.

“I quite understand the pains everybody is going through. We all know what it means for all of us as a country. And as I said, I apologise and take responsibility for that,” he said.

“But we still have a second chance, and we’ll give it our all to make sure that we do not disappoint and go the same way that the men took.

“We will do our best and try to get it right to make sure that we go through the playoffs.”

Madugu also praised Cameroon for their defensive skills and overall performance. Still, he maintained that Nigeria had enough chances to win the game.

“I would like to give the Cameroonian team credit. I would like to congratulate the Cameroon team. They won their game today,” Madugu said.

“They came in via sort of the highest, one of the best-ranked teams in the tournament. And for their group, they won their two games and drew with Cape Verde in a match that did not really matter for their position.

“And for today, they did the best they could. They defended very well. But in spite of all that, we still created a lot of chances, which, if we had converted, the result would have been different.

“But that is not to say you take anything out from the effort, the energy they also expended in trying to make sure they had the game and get the result we didn’t get.

“So I give them credit for it, and we see how it goes.”

Nigeria will now focus on the playoff, where South Africa stands as another major challenge in their quest to reach the 2027 World Cup. Madugu said the coaching staff would conduct a thorough review before preparing for the important match.

“Yeah, we get another game, playoff of a second chance against South Africa. We go back, watch all the games still and then come up with a plan where we know it can help us because we cannot afford to drop that second opportunity.

“We have to give it all our best.”

Possible Changes Ahead

The coach also mentioned that the quarter-final loss would lead the technical team to evaluate everything about the squad, including the chance of bringing in new players.

“It’s quite natural that when things like this happen, you have to do an overall assessment of the team. What went wrong? What did we do well? Where did we get it wrong?” he said.

“We have to do an overall assessment and then see what we can do within the shortest possible time before the next game against South Africa.

“There’s nothing bad in exploring other players.”

Madugu defended goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie despite her role in the key moment, saying that one mistake should not define her abilities.

“Chiamaka has been a wonderful goalkeeper, not only in the national team, but even in a club. But like you are saying, anybody can make mistakes at any time, and then it could be costly, just as it was costly for us today.

“But that is not to say she’s a bad goalkeeper. It’s just one of those things that’s meant to be.”

Defensive Worries

Madugu also pointed to Nigeria’s defensive issues and noted the absence of Ashleigh Plumptre as a factor the team has struggled with.

“It’s the same players that played last year that were not conceding goals. It’s the same players, the same group of players. Only one person is missing.

“Only Ashleigh Plumptre. And Ashleigh was playing from even the left fullback position. It was only Ashleigh.

“So, I mean, it’s something that we’ve been bothered, we’ve worried about it. We’ve been doing a lot to try and fix all this. But like I said, it’s just one of those things and we still have to continue to work.

“It’s still a work in progress.”

Moving Forward

Despite the disappointment of losing the quarter-final, Madugu said Nigeria’s attacking style was not solely to blame. He argued that chances can come from different parts of the game.

“They got a goal from a set-piece, and it ended the game. So, chances can come from different aspects of the game, not necessarily just through build-up play,” he explained.

“We still had chances, a few chances that were created through the middle, but they had a good plan of trying to ensure that they block the central area, which assisted them.

“We equally had our own plan of ensuring that we go through the wings, and we were still creating chances from those wings. It’s not as if we didn’t have a plan to ensure that we could also go through the middle.”

He pointed to Okoronkwo’s late chance as proof that Nigeria could still create chances centrally.

“The chance Esther got, the final ball that came, it was not from the wing. It came through the middle,” Madugu said.

“So, sometimes when games go like this, it has a different way of interpretation, and then you just have to take it the way it is.

“It was not our intention that the game should go the way it went. If we had been more clinical, the result would have been different.”

With Nigeria’s World Cup hopes now resting on the playoff route, Madugu knows the margin for error has become even smaller.

“Going forward, like I said, as long as there is still an opportunity, we cannot afford to drop our guard,” he said.

“We will learn from this and go back and continue to work to make sure that we exploit the second chance that we have.

“We cannot give up. We must continue the fight.