- Nigeria lost 2-1 to South Africa in the World Cup qualification play-off
- The defeat ends the Super Falcons’ run of appearing at every Women’s World Cup
- South Africa advance to the intercontinental play-offs, while Nigeria’s campaign is over
Nigeria’s Super Falcons’ remarkable World Cup streak has come to an end after South Africa secured a 2-1 victory over them in Thursday’s African qualification play-off.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that the result means Nigeria will not feature at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, bringing to a close a run that had seen the country participate in every edition of the tournament since its launch in 1991.
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The Falcons were forced into the play-off after their campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations ended in the quarter-finals. They needed to overcome South Africa to keep their hopes of reaching the global competition alive, but the defeat ended their final opportunity.
Nigeria had entered the continental championship with high expectations, having won the previous WAFCON and holding the record for the most titles in the competition. However, their loss to Cameroon prevented them from taking one of Africa’s direct qualification places.
The additional qualification route offered the team a chance to recover from that disappointment. South Africa, however, proved too strong and booked a place in the intercontinental play-offs.
For the Falcons, the failure is particularly significant because they had never previously missed a Women’s World Cup. Their continuous presence at the tournament had made them one of the most consistent teams in international women’s football.
The setback also comes at a difficult time for the Nigerian team, which remains Africa’s leading force in the history of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations with 10 championship victories.
While Nigeria’s World Cup campaign is now over, Cameroon and Malawi are preparing for the WAFCON final.
Cameroon secured their final berth after defeating hosts Morocco in a penalty shootout. The semi-final produced no goal during regulation time or extra time before Cameroon prevailed from the spot.
Malawi, meanwhile, have continued their impressive run by reaching the championship match for the first time. Their progress has been one of the major talking points of the tournament after entering the competition as one of the less-fancied teams.
South Africa’s victory over Nigeria gives them another opportunity to secure a place at the 2027 World Cup through the intercontinental play-offs.
Nigeria, meanwhile, will have to wait for another qualification cycle to attempt a return to the competition they had attended without interruption since 1991.
The outcome represents a major blow to the Super Falcons and ends one of the longest qualification records in African women’s football.
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