Former Nigeria international Desire Oparanozie has called for the appointment of a qualified coach to lead the Super Falcons, following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Super Falcons suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in Thursday’s play-in tie, bringing an end to Nigeria’s remarkable record of appearing at every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991.
Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane scored in the second half to give Banyana Banyana a 2-0 advantage, while Christy Ucheibe pulled one back from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time.
Reacting to the disappointing result, Oparanozie said the team must undergo significant changes, including bringing in a more qualified coach to oversee its rebuilding process.
“It was a disappointing result for the Super Falcons,” Oparanozie said on Brila FM.
“The South Africans put up a good game for 90 minutes, I wished the Super Falcons players started the game the way they ended it because it was evident that they only react to situations.
“Moving forward I think right now the team needs fresh legs, young players and also the team needs a qualified custodian.”
Nigeria’s failure to secure a World Cup ticket follows a difficult campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Falcons opened their tournament with a shock 3-2 defeat to debutants Malawi before recovering with a 1-0 victory over Zambia.
They then thrashed Egypt 6-2 in their final group match to progress to the knockout stage.
However, their campaign ended in the quarter-finals after a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon, marking the first time Nigeria failed to reach the semi-finals of the competition since the inaugural edition in 1998.
South Africa and Ghana will now advance to the intercontinental playoffs, where they will battle teams from other confederations for places at the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Morocco, Algeria, Malawi and Cameroon have already secured automatic qualification after reaching the WAFCON semi-finals.
