Nigeria secured second place in Group C and booked a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Cameroon after the defending champions defeated Egypt 6-2 at Stade Moulay Hassan on Wednesday.
The Super Falcons produced an emphatic attacking display to continue their bid to retain the WAFCON title, taking control of the match through a series of penalties and well-worked goals.
Nigeria opened the scoring in the 21st minute after a VAR review confirmed a handball inside the Egypt penalty area. Asisat Oshoala stepped up and converted the resulting penalty to give the defending champions an early advantage.
Egypt were unable to prevent Nigeria from extending their lead before half-time. Substitute Gift Monday made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time after a cleverly executed short-corner routine involving Toni Payne and Rinsola Babajide.
The move gave Nigeria a two-goal cushion at a crucial stage of the game, but Egypt responded before the interval to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Nigeria restored their control after the restart and moved further ahead in the 57th minute. Uchenna Kanu finished calmly with her left foot to re-establish the Super Falcons’ two-goal advantage.
The match then produced two more penalty decisions in Nigeria’s favour, with both awarded after VAR reviews. Christy Ucheibe converted the first before captain Rasheedat Ajibade scored from the second, putting Nigeria firmly in command at 5-1.
Egypt scored again, but Nigeria retained their attacking momentum and completed an emphatic victory in stoppage time. Monday and Ajibade combined to create the opening for Joy Omewa, who finished the move to score her first WAFCON goal.
That goal completed a 6-2 victory for Nigeria and confirmed their place in the last eight. Having finished second in Group C, the Super Falcons will now face Cameroon in the quarter-finals.
The result leaves Nigeria’s title defence on course for another meeting with a major African opponent, with Cameroon standing between the defending champions and a place in the semi-finals.
