Nigeria 6-2 Egypt: Super Falcons storm into WAFCON quarter-finals against Cameroon

Nigeria’s Super Falcons recovered from their shock opening defeat by Malawi in emphatic fashion, beating Egypt 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

Justin Madugu’s side produced a dominant attacking display at Stade Moulay Hassan on Wednesday night, securing a last-eight meeting with familiar rivals Cameroon and silencing doubts about their title defence.

The defending champions arrived at their final Group C fixture under intense pressure after losing 3-2 to tournament debutants Malawi. They had kept their campaign alive with a 1-0 victory over Zambia, despite playing with 10 players for much of that match, but they knew another setback against Egypt could send them out before the knockout stage.

Instead, Nigeria played with authority from the opening whistle, pushing Egypt deep into their own half and creating a series of chances.

Their pressure paid off in the 21st minute when a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review identified a handball inside the Egyptian penalty area. The referee awarded a penalty and Asisat Oshoala stepped up to take it.

The experienced striker, a six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year, kept her composure to send the goalkeeper the wrong way and give Nigeria a deserved lead. Oshoala had also scored the winning goal against Zambia.

Egypt managed to frustrate Nigeria for much of the rest of the first half, but the Super Falcons struck again in stoppage time.

A well-worked short-corner routine involving Toni Payne and Rinsola Babajide opened up the Egyptian defence. Babajide supplied the final pass and Gift Monday finished clinically to make it 2-0.

Egypt responded before the interval when Nadine Ghazi converted a penalty of their own, reducing the deficit to 2-1 and ensuring the match remained finely balanced at half-time.

Nigeria, however, quickly re-established control after the restart.

In the 57th minute, Babajide supplied her second assist of the evening, setting up substitute Uchenna Kanu. The forward fired a crisp left-footed effort into the net to restore Nigeria’s two-goal advantage.

A second VAR-awarded penalty then gave Christy Ucheibe the chance to add a fourth. The midfielder made no mistake, calmly converting to put the Super Falcons 4-1 ahead and effectively end Egypt’s hopes of a comeback.

Ghazi scored her second goal in the 84th minute after being set up by Yasmin Hassan, but Nigeria continued to attack rather than protect their advantage.

Another VAR decision resulted in a third penalty for the Super Falcons. Captain Rasheedat Ajibade took responsibility and dispatched her effort in the 88th minute to make it 5-2.

There was still time for one more goal. Deep into stoppage time, Gift Monday and Ajibade combined to cut through the Egyptian defence before laying the ball across to substitute Joy Omewa.

Omewa made no mistake with the finish, scoring her first-ever WAFCON goal and completing Nigeria’s six-goal demolition.

The result marked a forceful response to the criticism that followed their defeat by Malawi. Nigeria had appeared vulnerable after that unexpected 3-2 loss, but they followed it with the gritty win over Zambia and then overwhelmed Egypt with a performance full of attacking confidence.

The Super Falcons’ six goals came alongside three different penalty scorers and contributions from several players, underlining the depth of their attacking threat as they moved into the decisive stage of the tournament.

In the other Group C match, Malawi continued their impressive campaign despite losing 2-1 to Zambia. The result was enough for Malawi to finish top of the group.

All three leading teams finished level on points, with the final positions decided by the competition’s tiebreak criteria. Egypt were eliminated without a point after conceding 15 goals in three matches.

Nigeria’s reward is a quarter-final against Cameroon, renewing one of the biggest rivalries in African women’s football. Having survived the early threat to their title defence, the Super Falcons now enter the knockout rounds with momentum, confidence and their attacking edge restored.