Super Falcons midfielder, Deborah Abiodun has suffered another setback following Nigeria’s disappointing failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Washington Spirit midfielder has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League season after being placed on the club’s season-ending injury list.
The NWSL club confirmed on Monday that Abiodun will undergo surgery this week. The 22-year-old had initially been placed on the 45-day injury list earlier in September.
Abiodun made nine appearances for Washington Spirit this season, starting four games and featuring for 320 minutes before her injury ended her campaign prematurely.
Her latest setback comes less than a month after she represented Nigeria at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where the Super Falcons endured a historic failure to secure a place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria went into the tournament as defending champions and were seeking a record-extending 11th continental title. The expanded WAFCON also served as a qualification route for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Abiodun was selected by head coach Justine Madugu in the 25-player squad and was regarded as one of the younger midfielders expected to contribute significantly to the team.
Abiodun’s role in Super Falcons’ WAFCON campaign
Abiodun played only five minutes in Nigeria’s opening match against Malawi but became increasingly influential as the tournament progressed.
She started the Super Falcons’ final group game against Egypt and played the entire 90 minutes as Nigeria recorded a convincing 6-2 victory to advance to the quarter-finals.
The midfielder retained her starting position against Cameroon and completed the match, but Nigeria suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to the Indomitable Lionesses.
That loss ended the Falcons’ hopes of securing automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup. However, Nigeria still had another chance through a play-off against South Africa.
Abiodun was again named in the starting XI for the crucial encounter in Casablanca, but the Super Falcons suffered another painful defeat, losing 2-1 to Banyana Banyana.
Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane put South Africa two goals ahead before Christy Ucheibe reduced the deficit from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Nigeria, however, could not find a late equaliser.
The defeat ended Nigeria’s remarkable record of qualifying for every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991.
South Africa progressed to the next phase of the qualification process and will continue their bid to secure a place at next year’s tournament.
Abiodun will now turn her attention to recovering from the injury and undergoing surgery, with the hope of returning to action stronger for both Washington Spirit and the Super Falcons.
