"Every country wants to beat Nigeria." Assistant coach Ann Chiejine said it plainly, and she's right — when you've won 10 of 13 continental titles, you stop being a team and start being the problem everyone else is trying to solve.
The Super Falcons landed in Morocco as defending champions, the same country where they claimed "Mission X" last July with a 3-2 final win over the hosts. Head coach Justin Madugu is back. Most of the squad is back. The target is exactly the same: retain the title, something Nigeria last pulled off in 2018.
Easier said than done this time around.
More teams, more at stake
The tournament has expanded from 12 to 16 nations, which on paper means more group stage fodder but in practice means more traps, more upsets, more tired legs deep in the knockout rounds. Nigeria open against Wafcon debutants Malawi on Tuesday before facing Zambia and Egypt in Group C — a group that looks manageable on paper but contains genuine threats.
Malawi sit 153rd in the world rankings. Nigeria are 36th. That gap tells you almost nothing about the Chawinga sisters. Tabitha just helped fire Lyon to a fifth straight French league title. Temwa won the NWSL golden boot and MVP in both of her two full seasons with Kansas City Current. Malawi have never played Wafcon before, but they are absolutely not here to make up the numbers.
Zambia bring Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji — both playing in the USA, both dangerous — so even a group stage with no obvious giant-killer still demands Nigeria's full attention from minute one.
There's also a bigger prize dangling over the whole tournament. Wafcon doubles as World Cup qualification for Brazil 2026, with the four semi-finalists guaranteed a place. Nigeria have represented Africa at every Women's World Cup since 1991 — all nine of them. Protecting that record is the baseline, not the ambition.
Youth alongside the usual names
Rasheedat Ajibade, named best player at last year's tournament, captains the side. Chiamaka Nnadozie is the reigning African goalkeeper of the year. Asisat Oshoala, six-time African player of the year, is chasing her fifth Wafcon medal at 30. The experience in this squad is genuine.
But Madugu has deliberately opened the door to younger players, and the stories there are compelling. Comfort Erhabor, 21, was born in the Netherlands and raised in England. She currently plays in the third tier of English football for Portsmouth and made her Nigeria debut earlier this year against Cameroon. Joy Omewa, a striker based in Sweden, watched last year's Wafcon from afar — now she's in the squad training alongside Oshoala, who she calls "a really good mentor."
The preparation has been more thorough than in previous cycles — friendlies against Cameroon, Senegal and Tanzania before travelling to Morocco. That matters. Tired squads improvising tournament football is how upsets happen.
There are problems, though. Centre-back Ashleigh Plumptre, a key figure in last year's campaign, is out with a foot injury. And the squad was hit by thefts after arriving in Morocco, with forward Esther Okoronkwo — player of the match in last year's final — reportedly among those who lost money. These are the disruptions you don't plan for.
The prize money has doubled to $2m for the winners. The competition has grown. The target on Nigeria's back is larger than ever. Ordega insists the squad is "not under any kind of pressure" — but then, that's exactly what a team carrying all this history would say.
