Nigeria’s Super Falcons Announce Squad for 2026 WAFCON
Nigeria’s Super Falcons have drawn back the curtain on their 25-woman squad for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, a group built to chase nothing less than a record-extending 11th continental crown.
Head coach Justine Madugu, speaking through the Nigeria Football Federation, has gone with a core of hardened campaigners and a sharp edge of youth for a tournament that runs from July 26 to August 16. This is not a rebuilding job. It is a title defence.
Ajibade’s team, Oshoala’s fire
The armband rests on Rasheedat Ajibade, now the heartbeat of this side and the reference point in midfield. Around her, the biggest name in African women’s football returns again: six-time African Women’s Player of the Year Asisat Oshoala, still the headline act in a stacked forward line.
Behind them, Chiamaka Nnadozie anchors the spine. The Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper has grown into one of the most reliable shot-stoppers on the continent and remains the clear favourite to start. Comfort Erhabor of Portsmouth Ladies and Abia Angels’ Fatima Oloko complete a goalkeeping unit that mixes European exposure with domestic sharpness.
There is one notable absentee. Star defender Ashleigh Plumptre misses out as she continues her recovery from surgery, a significant blow to Nigeria’s back line and a reminder that even a giant of the women’s game has to adapt on the fly.
Steel and balance across the pitch
Madugu has gone with three goalkeepers, eight defenders, five midfielders and nine forwards, a structure that underlines Nigeria’s traditional strength: relentless attacking options backed by rugged defensive experience.
At the back, the names tell their own story. Osinachi Ohale brings years of tournament nous, while Michelle Alozie and Oluwatosin Demehin add energy and discipline. Rofiat Imuran, Shukurat Oladipo, Glory Ogbonna, Sikiratu Isah and Christy Ucheibe round out a defensive group that can both defend deep and push high when the Falcons smell weakness.
Midfield belongs to Ajibade, but she will not carry the load alone. Halimatu Ayinde offers bite and structure, Deborah Abiodun brings legs and range, Toni Payne supplies guile and versatility, and Jennifer Echegini adds drive from central areas. It is a unit built to control games, not just survive them.
Up front, the options are almost indulgent. Oshoala leads a forward cast featuring Folashade Ijamilusi, Esther Okoronkwo, Chinwendu Ihezuo, Francisca Ordega, Gift Monday, Uchenna Kanu, Omorinsola Babajide and Joy Omewa. There is pace, power, aerial threat and one‑v‑one trickery. On paper, no defence in Morocco will look at that list with any comfort.
Many of these players arrive from Europe’s top leagues, others from North America and Asia, and a crucial group from the Nigerian Women’s Football League. The blend gives Madugu a squad that understands the tempo of the global game but still carries the grit of the domestic scene.
Group C: Familiar giants, dangerous newcomers
Nigeria travel to Morocco as the most decorated side in African women’s football history. Ten WAFCON titles already sit in the cabinet. The last came in dramatic fashion, a 3-2 win over hosts Morocco in the previous edition’s final. That victory set the bar. The expectation now is to clear it again.
They have been drawn in Group C with Zambia, Egypt and Malawi. On paper, Nigeria are favourites. On grass, it will be a different story.
The campaign opens against tournament debutants Malawi on Tuesday, July 28, at Al Madina Stadium in Rabat. It will be the first senior competitive meeting between the two nations, a classic trap game for a heavyweight facing a newcomer with nothing to lose and everything to prove.
Then comes the grudge match.
On Saturday, August 1, at the same venue, the Super Falcons meet Zambia. Nigeria hold two wins from their three previous clashes with the Copper Queens, but the most recent memory still stings: Zambia’s 1-0 victory in the 2022 WAFCON third-place playoff. That result shifted the dynamic between the sides and turns this group fixture into one of the tournament’s early blockbusters.
The group stage closes against Egypt on Wednesday, August 5, at Rabat Region Stadium. Nigeria crushed Egypt 6-0 in their only previous WAFCON meeting back in 1998 at the inaugural African Women’s Championship. That scoreline belongs to a different era. Egypt’s women’s programme has grown since then, and the Falcons know history will not win them a single tackle in Morocco.
Continental glory and a World Cup ticket
There is more on the line than another African title. WAFCON 2026 doubles as Africa’s qualification route to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Reach the semi-finals, and a World Cup ticket comes with it. Fall short, and the most dominant team in African women’s football faces the unthinkable.
For Nigeria, that is the real edge to this squad announcement. The names are in. The hierarchy is clear. The path is drawn: Malawi, Zambia, Egypt, and then whatever the knockout rounds throw at them.
Now the question is simple: can this blend of seasoned champions and hungry newcomers carry the Super Falcons to an 11th crown and back onto the World Cup stage, or is Africa finally ready to knock them off their throne?
