“It was a bad day”: Super Falcons boss critiques Nnadozie’s showing in historic Malawi upset

Super Falcons coach Justine Madugu has shared his thoughts on Chiamaka Nnadozie's performance in Nigeria's 3-2 loss to Malawi in their opening game of the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, Soccernet.ng reports.

​Nnadozie has been a stalwart between Nigeria's sticks since 2019, consistently delivering strong performances to help the team. However, she failed to cover herself in glory in Nigeria's opening match of WAFCON 2026 against Malawi.

🎥 HIGHLIGHTS: 🇳🇬 2-3 🇲🇼

Malawi get their first-ever win in a 5-goal thriller. #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2026 pic.twitter.com/7iEAmzBG8I

— CAF Women Football (@CAFwomen) July 28, 2026

​Two errors in goal led directly to scores for the Scorchers, and unfortunately, the team could not recover. That marked Malawi's first-ever win at the WAFCON in what is their debut tournament.

​Following the defeat, Nnadozie has come under heavy fire from Nigerian fans for her performance. Many have even called for her to be benched in favor of second-choice goalkeeper Comfort Erhabor.

​Super Falcons: What Madugu Said About Chiamaka Nnadozie

​After the game, Super Falcons coach Madugu was quite lenient in his assessment of Nnadozie.

​He admitted that she had a bad game, but so did the rest of the team, emphasizing that there is no need to single her out for blame.

​”Chiamaka has been, I mean, a very good player. Everybody knows her exploits, both in the national team and at her club side. And like I said, you can always have good days and you can always have bad days. Today we will consider it to be one of the bad days — not only for Chiamaka, but for all of us collectively as a team,” Madugu said, per Ademola Victor.

​”She has been very outstanding. She has been very outstanding in all the games we have always played. That it happened the way it happened today is one of those things. It is normal; things like this do happen in football, and we know she will also get over it. It's not an individual thing; it's a collective thing. We all take responsibility for that and not blame one player for it.”

​With mounting pressure on Madugu regarding whether to bench Nnadozie, the Nigerian coach faces a big decision ahead of the next game against Zambia on August 1.

​However, it is clear that the 25-year-old simply had a rare off day. Given her proven quality, she should be expected to bounce back stronger.