Super Falcons forward, Uchenna Kanu, has revealed that several Nigeria players were so devastated by their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final defeat to Cameroon that they skipped breakfast and lunch the following day.
Nigeria’s hopes of defending their WAFCON title and securing an automatic qualification ticket for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup suffered a major setback after Cameroon secured a 1-0 victory in Casablanca on Sunday.
The result sent the Indomitable Lionesses into the semi-finals and secured their place among Africa’s four automatic World Cup qualifiers, while Nigeria were forced into the playoff route.
More than 24 hours after the defeat, Kanu said the disappointment remained evident within the Nigerian camp, with players still struggling to come to terms with the result.
“I think right now, it is late the next day after the game, and people are still dragging their feet,” Kanu told ESPN.
“We are still sad. I’m still sad. It has been long hours from the game and everybody’s just been down, to be honest. Right from the moment after the game, the emotion was really high.”
The Cruz Azul striker disclosed that some players did not even leave their rooms for meals as they continued to deal with the emotional impact of the defeat.
“People are still in their feelings,” she said.
“Some people didn’t even come out today for breakfast. Most of us, like myself, I didn’t have breakfast. I didn’t show up to lunch.
“It was later in the afternoon that I decided to eat something. And it is just the same as some of my teammates. We’ve all been down.”
Cameroon took the lead in the 19th minute through Myriam Nyadjou and successfully defended their advantage despite sustained pressure from Nigeria.
Kanu, who started Nigeria’s earlier match against Egypt, came on in the 38th minute for Rinsola Babajide as coach Justine Madugu sought to change the direction of the contest.
The striker had opportunities to restore parity but was denied by Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina.
Kanu maintained that Nigeria produced their strongest performance of the tournament but were undone by several factors.
“A lot of factors played into the game. The officiating was not the best we’ve seen. The officials were not on their best performance. Also, the field was not a great field, to be fair,” Kanu said.
“I know my girls, we did really well. We played our best game so far, but it was not good enough to secure the ticket and we were all disappointed.”
Kanu, who was among the Nigerian players seen crying after the final whistle, said the defeat was particularly painful because of the expectations surrounding the team.
“I cried my eyes out, so did my teammates.We felt really terrible,” she said. “That was not the promise we made to Nigerians and it was a very disappointing night for all of us.
“We would take it as a lesson learned, and we build with it, and we look forward to putting everything right on Thursday, leaving everything on the field on Thursday against South Africa.”
Nigeria arrived in Morocco as defending champions and record 10-time WAFCON winners, but their campaign has been uneven after they suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat to Malawi in their opening match before recovering to reach the quarter-finals.
Kanu suggested that some circumstances surrounding the Cameroon defeat were beyond the players’ control but stressed that the team could only focus on what it could influence.
“We will always try to do our best, to do our part,” she said.
“There are a lot of things we cannot control as players, and those things keep happening, but again, we only do what we can. It hasn’t been easy, just knowing that the things that happened yesterday, some of them we couldn’t control.
“It’s just hard when you put in everything, but it’s still not enough. So we’re all still disappointed.”
Nigeria will now face South Africa on Thursday in a crucial playoff, with the winner advancing to the FIFA intercontinental playoff tournament.
The encounter is particularly significant for the Super Falcons, who have qualified for every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991.
With their automatic qualification hopes gone, Kanu said the players must quickly put the disappointment behind them and concentrate on keeping Nigeria’s World Cup record intact.
“Our main focus right now would be on Thursday’s game and hopefully we progress from there. Hopefully, by the end of the game on Thursday, we would feel alive again,” Kanu said.
“Right now, emotions are very down. We’re putting our best, and we hope to eventually secure the ticket for the 2027 World Cup.”
