Super Falcons head coach, Justine Madugu, has backed Chiamaka Nnadozie despite criticism of the goalkeeper following Nigeria’s disappointing quarter-final exit from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
However, Madugu admitted that the coaching staff could consider other goalkeeping options when Nigeria face South Africa in a crucial 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup play-off in Casablanca on Thursday.
According to The Punch, Nnadozie has endured a difficult tournament, with questions raised over her positioning during several of Nigeria’s matches.
The goalkeeper came under heavy criticism after the Falcons’ 3-2 defeat to Malawi in their opening group fixture, with her positioning appearing to play a role in all three goals conceded.
She responded with a clean sheet in Nigeria’s 1-0 victory over Zambia before conceding twice in the 6-2 win against Egypt in their final group match.
Nnadozie was again questioned during Sunday’s quarter-final against Cameroon after Myriam Maéva Nyadjou’s spectacular free-kick found the net from a position Madugu’s goalkeeper was unable to cover, handing Cameroon a 1-0 victory.
Despite the criticism, Madugu stressed that the mistakes should not diminish Nnadozie’s reputation or ability.
“Chiamaka has been a wonderful goalkeeper, not just for the national team, but also for her club. Anyone can make mistakes at any time.
These mistakes can be costly, as it has been for us today, but that’s not to say she’s a bad goalkeeper,” the coach said after the game.
Madugu has alternatives available, including Nigeria Women’s Football League goalkeeper of the year Fatima Oloko and Portsmouth goalkeeper Comfort Erhabor, who reportedly impressed the technical team during the scouting process.
While maintaining his support for Nnadozie, Madugu said the entire team would be assessed before the decisive encounter with South Africa.
“It’s natural that when things like this happen, we have to do an overall assessment of the team — what went wrong, what we did well, where did we get it wrong,” Madugu said during his post-match interview.
“We have to do an overall assessment and see what we can do in the shortest possible time before the next game against South Africa.
“There’s nothing bad about exploring other players.”
Nigeria’s loss to Cameroon ended the Falcons’ run in the tournament and resulted in their worst-ever WAFCON finish, having failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in the competition’s history.
The defeat also denied the 10-time African champions one of the continent’s four automatic places at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Nigeria must now overcome South Africa on Thursday to secure a place in FIFA’s inter-confederation play-offs, which are scheduled for November and December.
Victory would give the Falcons another opportunity to qualify for the World Cup through the play-off route.
