Nigeria head coach Justin Madugu has vowed that the Super Falcons will recover from their shock 3-2 defeat to Malawi in their opening match at WAFCON 2026, www.aclsports.com reports.
The defending champions suffered their first-ever loss to a WAFCON debutant as Malawi stunned the ten-time champions in Rabat. The result also marked the first time the Super Falcons had conceded three goals in a WAFCON match.
Speaking after the game, Madugu praised his players’ effort despite the defeat and admitted that costly mistakes proved decisive against the Scorchers.
“I want to appreciate the girls for the effort they put in. They gave it their all and they gave their best. We made mistakes and we got punished for those mistakes,” Madugu said.
He also defended his tactical decisions, dismissing criticism of Michelle Alozie’s role and explaining Christy Ucheibe’s deployment in central defence.
“We had some challenges in defence and even from where Michelle played today, I think she needs to be commended because she gave it her all and she did very well. The mistake didn’t come from her position. Christy did very well in the previous games that she played, but based on what we tried to do in this game, we had to drop her back into central defence,” he said.
On Deborah Abiodun’s limited involvement, Madugu explained that the midfielder’s late arrival in camp affected her preparation for the game.
“Her arrival also affected her engagement and involvement in today’s game. She arrived very late and you have to give her time to recover so that you don’t push her into the game and eventually have injuries.”
Madugu also insisted that Nigeria did not underestimate Malawi, praising the Scorchers’ preparation and development in recent years.
“The Malawians are a good side. We are all aware of that. They have very good players and we know they prepared very well. It’s a testament to the development of the game across the continent. They did well, they played well and they got the result they probably worked for.”
He dismissed suggestions that social media activity affected the team’s performance, insisting the squad remained focused on its objectives.
“Before we came here, we knew what we were coming for and we didn’t really allow that to distract us. We have tried the best that we could to ensure that it does not serve as a distraction to the team.”
Looking ahead to the clash against Zambia, the Nigeria coach said the team would analyse the defeat and make the necessary adjustments, while drawing confidence from Nigeria’s recovery after losing their opening match at the 2018 tournament.
“We have to go back and analyse the game and see what actually went wrong and then determine how we get over it. I want to assure everybody that we will get better and we will overcome this challenge. In 2018, we found ourselves in the same situation. We lost our first game against South Africa and eventually we played South Africa again in the final and defeated them to win the trophy in Ghana. We strongly believe that we can overcome it.”
Forward Esther Okoronkwo admitted Nigeria fell below expectations against Malawi but backed the team to respond positively in their next outing.
“We came out a little flat, but it is what it is. We’ll learn from this, go back, learn our lessons, see where we need to improve, and come back better in the next game,” Okoronkwo said.
Nigeria face Zambia in their second Group C match on August 1 as they seek to revive their WAFCON 2026 title defence and keep their hopes of securing World Cup qualification on track.
