Why Nigeria face Cameroon and not Ghana in WAFCON 2026 quarter-finals

Nigeria's Super Falcons will face Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after finishing second in a dramatic Group C campaign, Soccernet.ng reports.

The ten-time African champions booked their place in the last eight with an emphatic 6-2 victory over Egypt at the Rabat Olympic Stadium. That result completed the most remarkable finish of the group stage, as Nigeria, Malawi and Zambia all ended with six points after three matches.

CAF's competition rules meant goal difference across the whole group was not enough to separate the three teams. Instead, only the matches played between Nigeria, Malawi and Zambia were considered under the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Malawi emerged as group winners after collecting the best head-to-head record. Nigeria finished second, while Zambia dropped to third despite also finishing on six points. Egypt lost all three matches and finished bottom of the group without a point.

Nigeria's journey to the knockout stage began with a surprise 3-2 defeat to tournament newcomers Malawi. Sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga scored all the goals to put Malawi in control before Rasheedat Ajibade converted a penalty in the 91st minute and Uchenna Kanu scored in the 98th minute. The late comeback came too late as the Super Falcons suffered an unexpected opening defeat.

The response came in the second match against Zambia. Asisat Oshoala gave Nigeria the lead in the eighth minute before defender Blessing Demehin was sent off in the 40th minute following a foul on Barbra Banda. Reduced to 10 players for more than half the match, the Super Falcons defended with discipline to secure a vital 1-0 victory that kept their qualification hopes alive.

Everything depended on the final group game against Egypt, and Nigeria produced their best performance of the tournament. Oshoala opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 21st minute before Gift Monday doubled the advantage in first-half stoppage time.

Uchenna Kanu made it 3-1 in the 57th minute, Christy Ucheibe converted another penalty in the 81st minute, Ajibade added a fifth from the spot in the 91st minute, and Joy Omewa completed the 6-2 victory in the 94th minute.

Why Cameroon are Nigeria's opponents instead of Ghana

The Super Falcons will now trade tackles with Cameroon's Indomitable Lionesses in one of the four quarter-final showdowns. CAF uses a fixed knockout bracket before the tournament begins. Under that format, the runner-up from Group C is paired with the winner of Group D in the quarter-finals.

Since Nigeria finished second behind Malawi in Group C, the Super Falcons are automatically matched with Cameroon, who secured first place in Group D. Cameroon earned top spot after beating Mali 2-1 and following that with a 1-0 victory over Ghana. Those results guaranteed the Indomitable Lionesses first place before the knockout stage.

Ghana, meanwhile, can only finish as runners-up in Group D after losing the decisive head-to-head meeting with Cameroon. The Black Queens battle Mali in their last group game, with the winner of that clash sealing second-place spot and heading to a different section of the knockout bracket.

As a result, Nigeria could not meet Ghana in the quarter-finals regardless of goal difference or overall points. The only way the two West African rivals can face each other now is if both continue winning and eventually meet in a latter stage of the competition.

Attention now turns to Sunday's quarter-final clash between Nigeria and Cameroon, scheduled for August 9 at 6:00 p.m. The winner of that fixture will book a place in the WAFCON 2026 semi-finals and at next year's FIFA Women's World Cup.