Nigeria’s senior women’s football team stands as the preeminent powerhouse of African football. Their remarkable resurgence from a 2-0 deficit to triumph over the host nation, Morocco, with a score of 3-2 in the final match of the Women’s CAF Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), held at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday night, serves as irrefutable evidence of this claim.
This victory against Morocco, who, as the host nation, experienced their second consecutive defeat in the final after losing to Banyana Banyana in 2022, marked the Super Falcons’ 10th Wafcon title out of a total of 13 since the competition’s inception in 1998.
The dominant Nigerian side first asserted their supremacy back in 1998 when they hosted and won this biennial tournament, defeating Ghana 2-0 in the final. The Super Falcons subsequently went on to claim the title four times consecutively in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, before conceding the championship to the hosts, Equatorial Guinea. The latter beat Banyana Banyana in the final match of 2008.
More bites of the cherry
After regrouping, Nigeria clinched the competition once more in 2010, only to be dethroned by the self-same Equatorial Guinea in 2012. However, they returned to their winning ways, dominating the tournament in 2014, 2016, and 2018, until Banyana finally secured their silverware in 2022 with a narrow 1-0 victory over the hosts, Morocco.
In the climactic encounter against Morocco on Saturday night, Nigeria appeared on the brink of relinquishing the title after enduring a harrowing first half that saw the hosts establish a 2-0 lead before the halftime whistle. This was after Ghizlane Chebbak and Sanaâ Mssoudy propelled the Atlas Lionesses ahead in the 12th and 24th minutes, respectively, much to the delight of the raucous crowd that filled the venue to capacity.
However, Morocco was compelled to confront their hubris in the second half as Nigeria had other intentions for this decisive match, launching an impressive comeback that narrowed the deficit to 2-1, courtesy of a penalty converted by Esther Okoronkwo.
This pivotal moment occurred shortly after the hour mark, when a VAR review bestowed Nigeria a lifeline following a handball by Nouhaila Benzina, leading to the penalty. Folashade Ijamilusi equalised, and a late winner by Joe Echegini dashed Morocco’s aspirations of becoming the fourth team to claim the title since the tournament’s formation.
Meanwhile Banyana Banyana who were the defending champions lost an opportunity to bring home the bronze medal after they lost 4-3 to Ghana in the third position play-off match on Friday night.
