History Favours Nigeria, But Zambia Present Fresh WAFCON Threat
Defending champions Nigeria face a defining moment in their CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2026 campaign when they take on an in-form Zambia in their second Group C match on Saturday night at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat.
The Super Falcons head into the encounter under pressure after suffering a shock 3-2 defeat to tournament debutants Malawi in their opening match, the first time Nigeria have ever lost to a WAFCON debutant and the first occasion they have conceded three goals in a match at the continental championship.
In contrast, Zambia announced themselves as serious title contenders with an emphatic 6-0 demolition of Egypt.
History, however, strongly favours Nigeria. Saturday’s clash will be the fifth WAFCON meeting between the two sides, with the Super Falcons winning three of the previous four encounters and outscoring the Copper Queens 15-1.
Nigeria recorded convincing 6-0 and 4-0 group-stage victories in 2014 and 2018 respectively before hammering Zambia 5-0 in the quarter-finals of the last edition.
Zambia’s only victory came in the 2022 third-place play-off, where an own goal by Chiamaka Nnadozie handed the Southern Africans a 1-0 win.
Nigeria know the stakes could hardly be higher. Failure to win would leave the defending champions without a victory from their opening two matches for only the second time in WAFCON history, following the 2008 tournament.
A defeat would also mark Nigeria’s first-ever back-to-back group-stage losses at the competition and, if Malawi also defeat Egypt, would result in the Super Falcons becoming the first defending champions to be eliminated in the group stage.
Captain Rasheedat Ajibade remains one of Nigeria’s biggest threats after scoring against Malawi to take her WAFCON tally to six goals across four editions. Uchenna Kanu also found the net in the opening defeat, scoring her third career WAFCON goal.
Zambia, meanwhile, are chasing another piece of history. Having never won their opening two group matches at a WAFCON, victory over Nigeria would secure that milestone and, depending on the outcome of Malawi’s clash with Egypt, could seal qualification for the knockout stage for a third consecutive tournament.
Much of Zambia’s confidence stems from captain Barbra Banda, who produced a sensational four-goal performance against Egypt.
The reigning African Women’s Footballer of the Year became the first Zambian to score a WAFCON hat-trick and the first player since Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala in 2016 to score four goals in a single match at the finals.
Banda has now scored seven WAFCON goals in just two tournament appearances and boasts an extraordinary record of eight hat-tricks for her country.
Zambia were relentless in their opening fixture, registering 34 shots, including 12 on target, while Grace Chanda created six chances, the most by any player in the opening round.
Despite Zambia’s recent rise, the Super Falcons will draw confidence from their dominant record in this fixture and their ability to respond after opening-match defeats.
Nigeria recovered from losses in their opening games in both 2018 and 2022 to win their second group matches and eventually reach the knockout rounds.
