Women's World Cup 2027: Nigeria 'still have hope' after Wafcon 2026 exit
Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie says Nigeria have to "go back to the drawing board" after missing out on automatic qualification for the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup.
The Super Falcons failed to reach the semi-finals of the ongoing 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco, falling to a 1-0 defeat by Cameroon in the last eight on Sunday.
By reaching the last four, Cameroon have now guaranteed a ticket to next year's World Cup in Brazil alongside fellow semi-finalists Algeria, Malawi and Morocco.
It means Nigeria, last year's Wafcon champions, will now face South Africa in a play-off on Thursday (20:00 GMT) for a spot at an inter-confederation qualifier later this year which could give them another chance to reach the global showpiece.
"This is football, this is life," Nnadozie told the BBC World Service.
"What happened happened, we just have to keep our heads high. There's still hope - it's not over yet."
Nigeria have featured at all nine previous editions of the Women's World Cup stretching back to the inaugural finals in China in 1991.
The Super Falcons made the quarter-finals in 1999 and progressed to the last 16 at the most recent two tournaments.
Yet, after losing their Wafcon crown, Justin Madugu's side need to get past 2022 champions South Africa to remain in the hunt for a place at the expanded 32-team World Cup.
"The coach has been cheering us up, and we really appreciate that from him," Nnadozie said.
"On Thursday we'll go out strong, we'll try to do better than we've done [against Cameroon] and hope to get to the next stage of the World Cup.
"We will go there and make things right."
Elsewhere on Thursday, Ghana take on Ivory Coast for Africa's second spot at the inter-continental qualifier.
The two Wafcon play-off winners will enter a 10-nation global competition, with a preliminary stage to be held in November and December.
A final round in February which will decide the last three qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup, which begins on 24 June.
Cameroon upset the 10-time Wafcon winners through a first half free-kick from teenager Myriam Nyadjou.
Indomitable Lionesses goalkeeper Michaely Bihina then pulled off a string of saves to keep Nigeria at bay in Casablanca.
"I think we were just a bit unfortunate," Super Falcons midfielder Jennifer Echegini said.
"I think honestly [it was] one of our better games. We created a lot more opportunities. The ball just didn't go the way we wanted it to.
"But it's not over yet. Unfortunately, it is for the Wafcon. But in terms of World Cup qualifiers, there's still a lot to fight for."
Victory means Cameroon will return to the World Cup for the first time since 2019.
"We can say it was an ugly win because they attacked a lot, but we were very, very strong defensively," forward Naomi Eto told the BBC.
"[It has] always been a dream to play the World Cup. We've been waiting for this moment for the longest [time] and it's finally arrived."
The elimination of Nigeria and South Africa over the weekend means there will be a new name on the Wafcon trophy come Sunday night.
Hosts Morocco, who have been runners-up at the past two tournaments, take on Cameroon in the last four on Wednesday, while Algeria face Malawi later the same day.
Reporting from BBC Sport contributed to this story.
