In an intriguing final clash at Rabat’s Olympic Stadium, Super Falcons overpowered hosts Morocco to clinch their record-extending 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title.
Jennifer Echegini scored the winning goal as Nigeria came from two goals down to win the tournament following a dramatic 3-2 victory over Morocco on Saturday night.
Echegini netted the all-important winning strike in the 88th minute to seal a second-half turnaround for Justine Madugu’s girls, who were trailing by two goals at halftime.
After Ghizlane Chebbak and Sanaa Mssoudy gave Morocco a shocking two-goal lead at the break, goals from Esther Okoronkwo, Florence Ijamilusi, and Echegini completed a well-deserved turnaround and victory for the Super Falcons.
In the presence of Patrice Motsepe and Gianni Infantino, CAF and FIFA presidents respectively, both teams started with a lot of energy, but it was Morocco that made good use of their chances in front of goal, as Chebbak brought a loose ball down nicely before hitting a shot into the top corner beyond Chiamaka Nnadozie in the 13th minute.
As Nigeria looked for their equalizer, Morocco added another goal in the 24th minute as the Super Falcons were caught sleeping at the back. A cross from the right bounced favorably for Mssoudy, who outsmarted Gloria Alozie before drilling her shot into the bottom far corner to trigger wild celebrations from the Moroccan fans as the host nation went into the break two goals up.
Nigeria found their groove in the second half, putting their host on the back foot after the introduction of Rinsola Babajide and Echegini on the hour mark. The pressure from the Super Falcons finally yielded a penalty kick awarded following a lengthy VAR review for handball from Ijamilusi’s cross. Okoronkwo bravely stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way for 2-1 after 64 minutes.
Esther Okoronkwo and Ijamilusi showed great understanding as Nigeria drew level six minutes later, with the former crossing for Ijamilusi to tap home for 2-2, a goal that immediately silenced the crowd and gave Super Falcons more belief that mission X wasn’t dead and buried.
Morrocco woke up and were initially awarded a penalty for handball by Folashade Demehin before it got overturned following another lengthy VAR review. The check showed that Demehin’s hand was in a natural position, and the defender was very close to the ball when it was kicked in her direction.
Supersub Echegini eventually wrapped up the comeback with a well-struck finish on 88 minutes to win it for Nigeria. The dramatic victory completed Mission X for Nigeria as the Super Falcons bagged their 10th WAFCON title.
The deserved win also means that the Falcons have succeeded in winning the WAFCON title at least once in consecutive tournaments.
