Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu says he is not afraid of being sacked after Nigeria failed to advance to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying playoffs tournament following a 2-1 defeat to South Africa on Thursday, www.aclsports.com reports.
The defeat means the Super Falcons will miss the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time, ending their ever-present record since 1991.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Madugu apologised to Nigerians, admitting that the team’s performance ultimately fell short of what was required to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
“First of all, I have to apologise to Nigerians over our inability to make it to the World Cup. It was not our intention. We came and did the best that we could, but our best was not good enough. We are very sorry for that, and we take full responsibility for everything that happened,” he said.
Responding to calls for his resignation after the defeat, Madugu said he understood the disappointment of Nigerians and would accept whatever decision is taken regarding his future.
“I am not afraid of being sacked. To the glory of God, I have served my country. It was a privilege that was given to me,” Madugu said.
“So far, I have played almost 28 games, won 19, lost four and drawn four. But this defeat came at crucial moments that people did not expect.”
Madugu said the players gave everything they had against South Africa, but admitted that missed chances and avoidable defensive mistakes cost Nigeria a place in the World Cup qualifying play-offs.
“We had chances, but conversion was another problem. We also made some little errors at the back, and they capitalised on that and got their goals. We had the game under control, but a momentary loss of concentration resulted in the kind of goals that we tend to concede. It is always individual errors that put us in trouble and make it difficult to get out of it,” he said.
Madugu also expressed concern about the team’s mentality, suggesting complacency and overconfidence may have contributed to the costly mistakes that led to their exit.
“This is a team that in the past didn’t concede goals. It could be complacency, it could also be overconfidence, and then we end up making mistakes over unnecessary issues,” he said.
The coach also admitted Nigeria struggled in front of goal despite creating enough chances throughout the tournament.
“We have not been clinical in front of goal. We create several chances, but we are very wasteful with the opportunities that come our way. This was a game we would have finished in the first half based on the opportunities that we had, but we couldn’t utilise them. South Africa were more clinical and converted the chances that came their way,” Madugu added.
