Ucheibe says Falcons must bounce back after loss

Super Falcons midfielder Christy Ucheibe has said sorry to Nigerians. She admitted that the team has no excuse for not qualifying automatically for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This came after they were knocked out of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations by Cameroon.

Nigeria lost 1-0 to the Indomitable Lionesses in the quarter-finals. This match took place at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Sunday. Myriam Maeva Nyadjou scored a powerful goal in the 19th minute. That goal ended the Super Falcons' hopes of defending their title and securing one of the four automatic World Cup spots available through the WAFCON semi-finals.

Ucheibe said the Super Falcons tried their best against Cameroon. But she admitted their efforts were not enough that night. "We gave everything we had, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. There is no excuse. We are very disappointed because we wanted to go further and qualify automatically for the World Cup," she stated.

The Benfica midfielder also apologized to Nigerians for the team's failure to reach the semi-finals. "We are sorry to Nigerians that we couldn’t advance in the competition. We know how much the country expects from us, and we feel that disappointment as well," she added.

Nigeria had many chances throughout the match but could not score. The Cameroonian defense was tough, and goalkeeper Michaely Bihina performed excellently. She made a fantastic save against Uchenna Kanu in the 70th minute. At the same time, Chiamaka Nnadozie had to make a save to keep the score down at the other end.

Substitute Esther Okoronkwo also had a chance late in the game, but her shot went just wide with Asisat Oshoala ready for an easy goal.

Despite this loss, Ucheibe said Nigeria's World Cup hopes are still alive. FIFA has a backup plan for the teams that lose in the WAFCON quarter-finals. The four losing teams will enter CAF play-off matches for the two spots allocated to Africa in the Women’s World Cup Play-Off Tournament.

The Super Falcons will now focus on the CAF play-off against South Africa. South Africa was also knocked out by Morocco in the last eight. This match will take place on Thursday, August 13. A win here will send Nigeria into the inter-confederation play-off, giving them one last chance to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Ucheibe believes the team needs to quickly move past this disappointment. They must focus fully on the chance that remains. She said, "We have to move on now. The World Cup is still our target, and we have to fight for that opportunity in the play-offs."

With Nigeria's title defense over, the Super Falcons now have another important match against South Africa. Winning that match will help keep their incredible record of qualifying for every FIFA Women’s World Cup alive.