Super Falcons vs South Africa: Madugu reveals what went wrong before crucial World Cup play-off

Nigeria coach Justine Madugu says the Super Falcons must stop relying on their past success and improve quickly if they are to keep their 2027 Women's World Cup dream alive, Soccernet.ng reports.

Nigeria play South Africa at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca at 17:00 GMT on Thursday, 13 August. The loser will be out of the race for a place at the World Cup in Brazil.

The unusual situation has come after both teams were knocked out in the WAFCON quarter-finals. Nigeria lost to 1-0 to Cameroon while South Africa were beaten by Morocco.

The four teams that reached the WAFCON semi-finals qualified automatically for the World Cup. Nigeria and South Africa must now fight for the final African route into the intercontinental play-offs.

Nigeria: Madugu says Super Falcons cannot afford to stand still

Madugu believes the Falcons have been left behind by teams that are investing heavily in women's football.

“If you look at what is happening you’d understand quite clearly not just from the results, but even from the game play, everybody is investing so much to ensure that they improve,’ Madugu stated in his pre-match presser as per Brila.

“So we have to realize that fact, and reality should dawn on us, that we must also do a lot to remain top and keep improving.

“People are doing a lot to develop their own. We cannot be in isolation we must also try as much as possible to make sure that we develop a lot of things.”

The coach also pointed to the need for changes in several areas of the team.

“There are so many areas that we need to work on to make sure we get it right because you cannot expect people to be working and you are doing nothing, but, you expect that you will come out victorious.”It doesn’t work that way, it is not magic.”

Madugu's comments come after Nigeria struggled to arrange enough high-level matches before the tournament. Madugu had raised the issue as far back as May, saying some countries were unwilling to play Nigeria.

The Falcons eventually faced Senegal twice in Ikenne on 5 and 8 June. But a planned double-header against Cape Verde was cancelled, while another proposed tournament also failed to happen.

That meant Nigeria arrived at the WAFCON without as much competitive preparation as the coach wanted.

The tournament itself then exposed more problems. Nigeria, the defending champions, suffered a shock 3-2 defeat by Malawi on 28 July before recovering with wins over Zambia and Egypt.

The Falcons have won the African championship 10 times and have appeared at every Women's World Cup since the competition began in 1991. Missing the 2027 tournament would therefore be a major blow.

South Africa have their own reasons to fight. Banyana Banyana won the WAFCON in 2022 before Nigeria took the title back at the next edition. They also entered this tournament hoping to regain their crown and qualify for the World Cup.

Interestingly, the Super Falcons need to beat South Africa in Casablanca to stay alive. A defeat would end their World Cup hopes and leave the 10-time African champions facing the possibility of missing the global tournament for the first time.