WAFCON 2026: Abiodun hails Super Falcons’ resilience after Zambia victory

Super Falcons midfielder Deborah Abiodun has dedicated Nigeria’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over Zambia to her teammates after the reigning champions recovered from a shock defeat by Malawi in the Women’s African Cup of Nations.

Nigeria responded to their 3-2 loss to tournament debutants Malawi by claiming three important points against the Copper Queens in Saturday’s Group C fixture in Morocco.

Asisat Oshoala scored the decisive goal, with her strike in the eighth minute proving enough to settle a closely contested match and secure victory for the Super Falcons.

Nigeria were forced to play with 10 players for the second half after defender Tosin Demehin was sent off for a foul on Barbra Banda. Despite that setback, the Super Falcons held on to protect their lead and record a crucial win.

Abiodun, who made her first start of the tournament against Zambia, praised the collective effort of the squad, including the substitutes and players who remained on the pitch after the red card.

“I’m very excited, kudos to my teammates it was a hard fight especially getting a red card in the first half,” Abiodun said. “So I just want to say thank you to my lovely teammates, I really appreciate everyone’s effort, from the reserve to the players on the field. Everyone was in tact.

“We had one goal going forward and we are happy that we got the three points and making Nigerians proud as always.”

The result was Nigeria’s fourth victory in five meetings with Zambia at the Women’s African Cup of Nations.

It also gave the Super Falcons an important response after their unexpected opening defeat by Malawi, who are competing at the tournament for the first time. Nigeria’s narrow success against Zambia was achieved despite spending the majority of the match a player short.

The Super Falcons’ next assignment is another must-win Group C match against Egypt on Wednesday, 5 August. Egypt suffered a 3-1 defeat by Malawi in their second group fixture, also played on Saturday.

Abiodun and her teammates will now look to build on the victory over Zambia as they continue their campaign in Morocco. Their immediate objective is to secure another positive result against Egypt and strengthen their position in the group.