Nigeria’s Super Falcons secured their 10th Women Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title on Saturday night, completing “Mission X” with a dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind victory over hosts Morocco in the final held in Rabat.
The win also saw Nigeria avenge all three losses from the 2022 tournament.
Initially, Morocco’s Atlas Lionesses captivated the full-capacity Stade Olympique de Rabat, surging to a two-goal lead within 24 minutes.
Captain Ghizlane Chebbak opened the scoring in the 13th minute, capitalising on a misplaced pass, followed by Saana Mssoudy’s powerful strike in the 24th minute.
The Super Falcons, however, demonstrated their renowned resilience in the second half. Their comeback began in the 64th minute when Esther Okoronkwo converted a penalty kick. Seven minutes later, Okoronkwo again drove into the box, setting up Folasade Ijamilusi for the equaliser.
A potential penalty for Morocco in the 78th minute was overturned by VAR after a lengthy review.
The Nigerian team seized the momentum, and substitute Jennifer Echegini gloriously swept home the winning goal in the 88th minute from another Esther Okoronkwo free kick, sealing the victory.
Nigeria’s captain Rasheedat Ajibade was named Player of the Tournament, while Chiamaka Nnadozie, Africa’s best goalkeeper for the past two years, received the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award. The victory earned Nigeria a one-million-dollar prize.
This triumph marked a significant act of redemption for the Super Falcons, who systematically defeated every team that had beaten them in the 2022 finals, also staged in Morocco.
They avenged their 2022 third-place defeat by Zambia with a 5-0 quarter-final win, edged out South Africa’s Banyana Banyana (who had beaten them 2-1 in the 2022 group stage) in the semi-finals, and finally triumphed over the Atlas Lionesses, who had eliminated them on penalties in the 2022 semi-finals.
The Super Falcons maintained their impressive record of never losing a Women’s AFCON Final.
Super Falcons’ WAFCON Titles:
1998 Champions
2000 Champions
2002 Champions
2004 Champions
2006 Champions
2010 Champions
2014 Champions
2016 Champions
2018 Champions
2024 Champions
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