Brighton & Hove Albion of England goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, is blowing hot ahead of Thursday’s decisive clash with South Africa at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, as she says she and her colleagues in Nigeria’s squad will ‘go out strong’ during the game.
READ ÀLSO: ‘We Still Have Hope’ — Chiamaka Nnadozie Turns Focus to World Cup Play-Off After Cameroon Heartbreak
Sports247 reports that it is a last resort encounter and second chance for the Super Falcons to keep their hopes alive for a ticket to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, hence Nnadozie’s verdict that they cannot afford to lose the game.
They are reduced to this level and unable to pick an automatic ticket to the Mundial for the first time ever since its inception in 1991, following a 1-0 loss to Cameroon in Sunday’s ill-fated quarter-finals fixture at WAFCON 2026.
That defeat has left the ten-time WAFCON champions needing to face South Africa in a play-off on Thursday for one of two spots Africa has at an intercontinental qualifier later this year, which provides the Falcons with a second chance to reach the global showpiece.
“This is football and this is life. What happened has happened and we just have to keep our heads high. There’s still hope – it’s not over yet. The coach has been cheering us up, and we really appreciate that from him.
“On Thursday, we’ll go out strong. We’ll try to do better than we’ve done and hope to get to the next stage of the World Cup. We will go there and make things right,” Nnadozie told BBC World Service.
Sports247 gathered further that Ghana will face Cote d’Ivoire same day for Africa’s second spot at the inter-confederations 10-nation qualification play-off competition, with a preliminary stage first taking place in November and December this year.
Succesful teams will then move on to the final round in February, from which the last three qualifiers will emerge for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will start on June 24th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with Nigeria’s Falcons hoping to be counted among the qualified teams.
