Madugu: Nigeria must beat Cameroon to keep Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup hopes alive

Nigeria manager Justin Madugu says his side are fully prepared for a decisive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Cameroon on Sunday, with victory needed to secure progress in the tournament and maintain their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.

The Super Falcons go into the last-eight tie knowing that the result will have consequences beyond a place in the semi-finals. Madugu believes qualification for the World Cup is the immediate priority, while reaching the next round would also keep Nigeria’s bid to retain the trophy on course.

“It is an important match because we all know what is at stake: qualification for the World Cup. After qualification, there are the semi-finals, which will also allow us to continue our quest to retain the trophy. We will be perfectly prepared, we will give our best and we will do everything to win,” said Madugu.

Nigeria’s coach has rejected suggestions that the teams’ two most recent friendly meetings should be used to assess the balance of power before Sunday’s competitive encounter.

Madugu said the circumstances surrounding those matches were different and that both squads had changed since then. Players who were unavailable for the friendlies are now involved with both national teams, making previous results an unreliable guide to the quarter-final.

“The last two matches we played against Cameroon were preparation matches. Many things came into play and some players who were not present at that time are now with both teams. Therefore, we are not using those matches to evaluate the current team,” he said.

The Super Falcons conceded several goals during the group stage, but Madugu says defensive weaknesses have been a focus of their preparations for the knockout phase. Nigeria are aiming to become more resilient without losing the attacking threat that has helped them remain effective in front of goal.

“We believe that it will be from the quarter-finals that we will start not conceding goals. We have worked hard to correct the mistakes and weaknesses that allowed us to concede those goals. Certainly, we conceded goals, but we scored as many, so the overall assessment remains positive,” the coach added.

Madugu also confirmed that there are fitness concerns within his squad ahead of the match. Several players are dealing with injuries, although the team’s medical staff are working to make them available in the best possible condition.

“We have a few injury problems within the team. The medical team is working to resolve them in order to prepare the players to the best of their abilities,” he said.

Nigeria will therefore approach the Cameroon fixture with two clear objectives: to reach the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals and to secure qualification for the next World Cup. A victory would allow the Super Falcons to continue their pursuit of another continental title while advancing their campaign on both fronts.