Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has weighed in on Nigeria's disappointing defeat to Malawi in their opening Group C game at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria were widely expected to brush aside the tournament debutants, especially after most of the competition's heavyweights had opened their campaigns with victories. However, the defending champions suffered a shocking 3-2 defeat to Malawi to begin their title defence on a disappointing note.
After a goalless first half, the match burst into life after the break with five goals in a dramatic second half.
Temwa Chawinga opened the scoring in the 73rd minute with a brilliant finish before her older sister, Tabitha, doubled Malawi's advantage six minutes later.
Rasheedat Ajibade pulled one back for Nigeria from the penalty spot in the second minute of stoppage time to give the Super Falcons hope. However, Temwa grabbed her second of the night moments later to restore Malawi's two-goal cushion as the Chawinga sisters proved too much for Nigeria's defence.
Uchenna Kanu scored late in the game to set up a nervy finish, but Malawi held on to record their first-ever WAFCON victory, while the Super Falcons began their campaign with a painful defeat.
Madugu defends selections in Super Falcons defeat
The Super Falcons were without some of the key players who helped them win the last edition, most notably Ashley Plumptre, who missed the game through injury.
In her absence, Michelle Alozie was deployed at left back, while Christy Ucheibe started in central defence. Both decisions came under heavy criticism after the defeat.
Reacting to the result, Madugu explained that the coaching staff wanted to try something different with the team's setup and defended playing some players in unfamiliar roles.
“When things like this happen, everybody has his opinion. Everybody is entitled to whatever he says. If we had won, the comments people would be making wouldn't have been the same”, Madugu said post-match.
“When we played in the last edition, we were playing Ashley from left fullback while she was not a left fullback. She played there and everybody appreciated what she did and she did very well.
“We've seen some challenges in defence. Even when Michelle played there today, I think she needs to improve because she gave it her all and did very well. The mistake didn't come from her position. It's not her involvement in that area that caused those goals. So, the issue of her being played out of position doesn't arise.
“If you don't have confidence or belief as a player, then she would not be able to play from the position”, the Super Falcons coach added.
The top four teams at the tournament will qualify automatically for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, but Nigeria's path has become more difficult following the opening-day defeat.
Madugu also accepted full responsibility for the result and backed his players to recover in their next group match.
“There will always be criticism and comments when things go wrong. We accept those things, we accept responsibility for whatever happened and we'll try to work on it. Whatever mistakes were made, the players are very flexible and we'll correct them next time.
“It's a wake-up call for all of us, and we know how important this edition is. We're not taking anything for granted”, Madugu concluded.
The Super Falcons will return to action against Zambia in their second Group C match on Saturday at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat as they look to bounce back from their opening defeat to Malawi.
