Nigeria must beat Egypt to reach WAFCON quarter-finals, says Madugu

Nigeria head coach Justin Madugu says the Super Falcons have assessed every possible qualification scenario before their decisive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 Group C match against Egypt.

The Super Falcons need victory to guarantee their progress to the quarter-finals when they meet Egypt in their final group fixture.

Nigeria began the competition with a shock 3-2 defeat by Malawi, who are appearing at the tournament for the first time. They responded with a narrow 1-0 victory over Zambia in their second match, despite playing for most of the game with 10 players.

With two rounds of matches completed, all four teams in Group C can still qualify for the knockout stage. Malawi lead the section with six points, while Zambia and Nigeria have three points each. Egypt are bottom without a point.

Madugu said his side are fully aware of the results and permutations required to secure a place in the last eight.

“We have done all the various permutations on what can get us through and we know which of the permutations can take us through,” he said.

The coach added that Nigeria want to settle their qualification position through their own performance rather than rely on the outcome of another match.

“We want to have our fate in our hands and not leave it for anybody to decide for us, so we are going straight for what we know would put us through and that we are aware of.”

Madugu, who guided Nigeria to victory at WAFCON 2024, said his players were in a positive mood as they prepared for the crucial encounter.

“We are good to go, the team is in high spirit, we are getting ready for the next game and we all know what is at stake, we are doing our best to ensure that we get the right result that will take us to the next stage of the competition.”

The coach was also questioned about the inclusion of Francisca Ordega, who has not played a minute at the tournament.

Madugu defended the decision to select the experienced forward, saying every member of the squad has a role to play, whether or not they appear on the pitch.

“There are so many ingredients that makes a team succeed, if we feel Ordega is not doing well we wouldn’t have brought her to this competition. We know the role most of them play, especially the ones we always refer to as the old ones in the team. Also it’s not every player that comes to a competition you expect to play all through 90 minutes.

“It’s not like sentiments are attacked to it, we are the principal beneficiaries when a team does well so we wouldn’t do things that will not help us in any way. We try to do our best because if we win all of us are happy and have made a lot of people happy.”