Nigeria‘s bid to win their 10th African Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title comes to the last hurdle when they meet hosts Morocco in the final in Rabat on Saturday.
The North Africans, meanwhile, hope to claim their first title — joining Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa on the honour roll — in front of what is expected to be a partisan crowd inside the Olympic Stadium.
Nigeria coach Justine Madugu was unheralded before the tournament — he was ridiculed by some, including his former boss, Randy Waldrum — but he has taken an unassuming, one might even say philosophical, approach to the job of leading the biggest women’s football team in Africa, and by far the most successful.
On the other side of the touchline, Jorge Vidal leads Morocco just two years after taking Spain to victory in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
But this game is more than Madugu vs. Vidal, with a number of storylines that just about write themselves.
Super Falcons must overcome crowd pressure
To achieve their “Mission X” objective, and claim their 10th title, Nigeria have to beat more than the 11 players on the field for Morocco. They will also have to contend with the fans in the 68,700-capacity Olympic Stadium in Rabat, and their lasers.
But Nigeria are not nine-time champions for nothing. Neither are they strangers to overcoming a partisan crowd.
In 2000, they claimed their second WAFCON title in South Africa, in front of one of the most hostile crowds they have ever faced. It was so bad that the game had to be abandoned after 73 minutes, when fans started throwing objects at the referee after Stella Mbachu scored Nigeria’s second goal to all but put the game beyond Banyana Banyana.
In 2016, they faced another intimidating atmosphere when they played hosts Cameroon in Ahmadu Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé. More than 60,000 spectators crammed into the stadium, including top officials of state and the wife of the president, and the venue rocked as Cameroon sought their first title; but Desire Oparanozie broke home hearts with the goal that won Nigeria their eighth title.
Outside WAFCON, the Super Falcons braved an even more intimidating crowd in Ghana during qualifying for the 2004 Olympic Games; Nigeria won on penalties in Accra, with the Ghana’s first lady also sitting in the stands.
They were, however, undone by Morocco at the 2022 WAFCON tournament, when two red cards and missed opportunities cost them dear.
Madugu says the players have become accustomed to partisan crowds.
“Our players have played at different competitions and leagues, with crowds similar to those they will face in Morocco,” he said. “So it will not be a strange thing for them.”
“Even in this competition, they have played in different countries with very large crowds and they were not intimidated. The last semifinal game we played against Morocco, we handled it well and the game went as far as penalty shootouts. So its not strange. We are ready for it, no problem.”
Redemption arcs
There is a lot more than the title riding on this game for the trio of captain Rasheedat Ajibade, midfielder Halimatu Ayinde, and forward Ifeoma Onumonu.
For these players, it is personal after what happened when the teams last met in the semifinals of the 2022 tournament.
Onumonu, especially, had a particularly traumatic outing. The forward spent the full 120 minutes of regulation and extra-time slugging away, but failing to cut through the Morocco defence, then missed the crucial penalty kick that cost Nigeria the game.
This was after both Ayinde and Ajibade were sent off in the second half. Nigeria played the nearly 75 minutes of the semifinal shorthanded, with Ayinde sent off within the opening minute of the second half, and Ajibade dismissed on the hour mark.
Onumonu was so broken by the incident that it took her some time to recover, as she explained in an interview with ESPN ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
“It was difficult,” she said. “We went to PKs and I was exhausted. It is not as though it was the frame; it was saved. And I give myself grief for that, like, that’s what the goalkeeper is there for.
“But for me, as a striker, I expect to make every single PK. So, when she did make the save, it weighed a lot on me. I’m not necessarily one who kind of goes online to check comments, but for some reason a comment caught my eye and it upset me.
“That was hard, but people are going to say what they were going to say because they don’t know how hard it was, In that stadium with all their fans, it was incredibly difficult.”
Teammates rallied around to help, and Onumonu bounced back to remain a key player for Nigeria alongside Ajibade and Ayinde.
After defeating South Africa in the semifinals this time, Onumonu was clear about whom she wanted to win when Ghana and Morocco squared up in the second semi.
Ed Dove discusses Nigeria’s 2-1 win over South Africa in the WAFCON, and how it was overshadowed by an injury to Gabriela Salgado.
“Given what happened the last occasion, we definitely want to face Morocco,” she said.
Her wish has been granted and it will now be up to her and her teammates to claim victory on Saturday.
Ajibade said all would be well so long as there were no questionable red cards.
“Last tournament happened the way it happened,” the Nigeria captain said.
“This time it’s going to be a different one, and it’s going to be a good one. We still urge and plead that everything should be done fairly. We want beautiful football, we don’t want something is will not beautify African football. We want a fair game in the officiating.”
The payback run
Nigeria defeated Morocco heavily at the 1998 and 2000 WAFCON tournaments, then called the African Women’s Championship, but Morocco stunned their more celebrated rivals on penalties in 2022.
However, the Super Falcons do not take slights lightly. Whenever they have been beaten, they have come back with a vengeance. When they lost for the first time at a WAFCON tournament, to Ghana in the 2002 group stage, the Falcons stormed back to beat the Black Queens in a pulsating final.
When they lost to Equatorial Guinea in 2008, they also handed down a beat-back in 2010.
During this tournament, Nigeria have been on a “payback tour” against the teams that defeated them in 2022. Zambia, who won the bronze final in 2022, were smoked 5-0 in the quarterfinals this time around. Then South Africa were beaten in the semifinals to avenge the defeat in the group phase of the previous tournament.
Now Nigeria face Morocco for the highest stakes of all.
Colin Udoh and Cristina Alexander discuss which teams in the WAFCON deserve to be in the final.
Morocco’s best play…
Morocco, like the Super Falcons, are yet to lose a game at this tournament, but they have not matched the level or quality of the Nigerians even though the have also scored 11 games in reaching the final. The Super Falcons have looked a different team from that which struggled in 2022; they are more mature, more focused, and more determined to win.
Teams that have come out to play came up short: Tunisia, Zambia, and South Africa were defeated 3-0, 5-0 and 2-1 respectively.
Botswana and Algeria held the Super Falcons at bay, both bunkering down and letting the serial champions try to break them down; Botswana eventually cracked but Algeria held out for a 0-0 draw.
South Africa chose their battles despite being a side almost at the level of Nigeria; they respected the Super Falcons enough to play a mid block until much later in the game.
Morocco might be best served going the same route. They have neither the individual talent nor the physicality of the Nigerians, and any attempt to trade blows with the Super Falcons may not end well.
Sitting in a mid to low block and springing Ghizlane Chebbak in transitions might be their smartest play as they attempt to win their first ever title. But will they go for it?