Nigeria’s Super Falcons have been eliminated from the race for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup after suffering a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in their CAF play-off match at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The defeat on Thursday ended Nigeria’s hopes of maintaining their record of appearing at every edition of the Women’s World Cup.
Banyana Banyana Take Control
The match was goalless at half-time before South Africa broke the deadlock in the 56th minute through Thembi Kgatlana.
Refiloe Jane then doubled Banyana Banyana’s advantage in the 77th minute, putting Nigeria under intense pressure.
The Falcons were handed a lifeline late in the game after a VAR review awarded them a penalty and resulted in Jane being sent off.
Christy Ucheibe converted the spot-kick in added time to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Nigeria pushed for an equaliser but South Africa held firm to secure the victory.
Falcons’ World Cup Run Ends
The loss means Nigeria will miss the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, ending their record of qualifying for every edition of the tournament.
The Falcons had already lost their automatic qualification opportunity after a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon on Sunday.
That result also ended Nigeria’s run of reaching at least the semi-finals at every previous WAFCON and marked the country’s worst-ever finish in the competition.
South Africa will now advance to the intercontinental play-off tournament scheduled for November and December, where three teams will secure the remaining African places at the 2027 World Cup.
Disappointing WAFCON Campaign
Nigeria’s 2026 WAFCON campaign has been a major setback after the Falcons arrived in Morocco as defending champions following their record-extending 10th continental title last year.
Justine Madugu’s side opened the tournament with a 3-2 defeat to WAFCON debutants Malawi on July 28.
They recovered with victories over Zambia and Egypt before advancing to the quarter-finals.
However, the 1-0 defeat to Cameroon ended their title defence, while the subsequent loss to South Africa confirmed that Nigeria would not feature at the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
