WAFCON 2026: Nigeria Edged Zambia in a hard fought victory. -

Nigeria recorded a slim 1-0 win over the Copper Queens of Zambia in their second group match of the Women’s Cup of Nations WAFCON to revive her title hopes.

Former Barcelona star Asisat Oshoala once again rose up to the occasion after her lone goal in the 7th minute goal proved to be the decider in a well contested encounter at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat Morocco.

The Super Falcons who initially suffered a shocking 3-2 defeat against WAFCON debutants Malawi in their opening group fixture faced a daunting task ahead to reignite her title ambitions and also secure a spot for the global showpiece kicking off in Brazil next year.

With the team already soaked in pressure ahead of the make or break encounter, Head coach Justin Madugu made some tactical adjustments, with Oshoala, Uchenna Kanu, Deborah Abiodun, and Rofiat Imuran all starting.

In a bid to avoid a premature elimination from the tourney, the West Africans infused pressure on the fragile Zambian defense right from the blast of the whistle and almost recorded an early lead in the fourth minute when Captain Rasheedat Ajibade true ball found Asisat Oshoala whose touch looked heavy and was brilliantly saved by Zambia goalkeeper Hazel Nali.

Some minutes later in a similar scenario, Ajibade provider instincts came to play once again latching the ball to the Al Hildah forward who made no mistake this time breezing past two Zambian defenders and bubbling the ball over Nali who initially made a rebounding effort but that didn’t matter as it was enough to give Nigeria the lead.

At just six minutes before halftime, The defending Champions had to face the dire consequences of indiscipline as defender
Oluwatosin Demehin was sent off by referee Josephine Wanjiku for a reckless tackle on Banda who was well on the path to give Zambia an equalizer.

Despite being at a numerical disadvantage for most parts of the game, the Nigerian side mustered courage and maintained composure in preserving their slender lead against one of the competition favorites.

However, Madugu’s tactical brilliance was good enough to exploit the weakness of the Southern African side as they successfully neutralized the attacking traits of Zambia’s deadly duo, Barbra Banda and Rachel Kundanaji for most parts of the game.

The defending Champions will seek to ride on this momentum when they take on the Cleopatra of Egypt in their last group face-off as they seek to keep their quarterfinals hopes alive.