Despite being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), the Super Falcons of Nigeria still have a path to the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
According to Naija News, the 10-time African champions lost to Cameroon 1-0 on Sunday, losing out on one of Africa’s four automatic spots at the World Cup in Brazil the following year.
The Indomitable Lionesses eliminated Justine Madugu’s team and guarantyd their spot in the semi-finals with an early goal.
Nigeria’s chances of winning the World Cup are still alive, tho. South Africa, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, the other three losing quarterfinalists, will join the Super Falcons in the continental play-offs.
One of the two tickets for the continental play-offs will be awarded to the winner of Nigeria’s match against South Africa on Thursday.
After winning the African play-offs, the two sides will battle for the final World Cup spots in FIFA’s global play-off event.
FIFA provided the following explanation of the qualifying procedure on its website: “Six teams ranked according to the most recent FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking prior to the play-off draw will compete in the first phase of the Play-Off Tournament in November and December 2026 at a central venue. There will be two AFC teams, two CAF teams, one CONMEBOL squad, and one OFC team. Two teams will advance to the final play-off round using a format that will be revealed later.
Two clubs from Concacaf, one from CONMEBOL, and one from UEFA will join the two qualifiers from the first round in the final play-off phase, which will take place in a central location in February 2027. The final three teams that qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 will be determined by a direct knockout match after the six teams are divided into three groups. It is forbidden to draw teams from the same confederation in the same pathway.
In the end, only three teams from the world play-off procedure will be guarantyd spots at the World Cup in Brazil.
As they try to maintain their incredible record of competing in every Women’s World Cup since the competition started in 1991, the Super Falcons have little room for error.
At the 2023 World Cup, Nigeria advanced to the Round of 16 before losing on penalties to England, the eventual finalists.
