Former Nigeria international, Ifeanyi Udeze, has expressed his disappointment over the Super Falcons’ failure to secure a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, describing the setback as an “insult.”
Nigeria’s World Cup hopes came to an end on Thursday after the Super Falcons suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the play-in fixture.
The two sides went into the break without a goal, but South Africa took control after halftime.
Thembi Kgatlana opened the scoring before Rediloe Jane doubled Banyana Banyana’s advantage.
Nigeria managed to reduce the deficit through Christy Ucheibe, who converted from the penalty spot in the 93rd minute.
However, the late goal was not enough to prevent South Africa from claiming victory and advancing to the Intercontinental playoff, where a World Cup qualification opportunity awaits.
The result marked a historic disappointment for Nigeria, as the Super Falcons will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time since making their debut at the inaugural tournament in 1991.
Reacting to the development, Udeze said the failure to qualify for the global showpiece was more painful to him than Nigeria’s inability to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
“Not picking the World Cup ticket is an insult,” Udeze said on Brila FM.
“I don’t blame them for not winning the WAFCON but what really pained me is not picking the World Cup ticket.”
The former defender also identified what he believes contributed to the team’s disappointing campaign, pointing to a lack of unity and excessive confidence among the players.
“Not like our players are not good but I think they were overconfident going into the WAFCON and it seems there’s no Unity among them.”
Meanwhile, Ghana secured a place in the Intercontinental playoff on Thursday after overturning a one-goal deficit to defeat Côte d’Ivoire 2-1.
Hosts Morocco, Cameroon, Algeria and debutants Malawi have already secured automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup.
Malawi and Cameroon will contest the WAFCON final after both nations defeated Nigeria during the tournament. Malawi overcame the Super Falcons in the group stage, while Cameroon eliminated them in the quarterfinals.
