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Nigeria’s Super Falcons urged to learn from South Africa defeat, says captain Ajibade
Rasheedat Ajibade says Nigeria’s Super Falcons must learn from their failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup by avoiding complacency, preparing more effectively and producing their best performances consistently.
Nigeria’s captain spoke after the team suffered a 2-1 defeat by South Africa in the continental playoffs on Thursday, a result that means the ten-time African champions will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time since they began competing in the tournament.
The defeat completed a disastrous week for Nigerian football. Four days earlier, Nigeria had been eliminated by Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 2026 WAFCON, losing 1-0 and failing to reach the semi-finals for the first time in the competition’s 14 editions.
That result sent the Super Falcons into the inter-confederation playoffs, where their place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup was at stake. They were unable to recover against South Africa, with Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane scoring for Banyana Banyana.
Christy Ucheibe’s late goal offered Nigeria hope, but it proved to be only a consolation as South Africa held on for victory.
The outcome represents a significant setback for the Super Falcons, who were criticised during the WAFCON for appearing overconfident and lackadaisical. Most of the players looked visibly distraught at the final whistle in the loss to South Africa.
Ajibade, who plays for PSG, completed every minute of Nigeria’s campaign in Morocco but had a subdued tournament. She found it difficult to influence the quarter-final against Cameroon and the decisive playoff against South Africa.
After the defeat, the former Atletico Madrid Femenino forward acknowledged that Nigeria had been given difficult lessons by its shortcomings. Her assessment focused on three areas: the need to guard against complacency, the importance of better preparation and the requirement to perform at the highest level throughout a tournament.
The result is also expected to have serious financial and structural consequences for the Nigeria Football Federation. Missing the World Cup will deny Nigerian football a place at one of the game’s biggest international events and places renewed attention on the organisation of the national team.
A major rethink around the Super Falcons setup and the wider NFF would not be surprising in the weeks ahead. Nigeria’s campaign has ended with successive defeats at the worst possible stage, after the team had spent the tournament under pressure to maintain its long-standing record of reaching the latter stages of the WAFCON and qualifying for the Women’s World Cup.
Instead, South Africa’s victory leaves Nigeria outside the global competition, while Ajibade and her team-mates are left to reflect on how a campaign that promised to secure qualification ended without a place at the tournament.
