Cameroon ended Nigeria’s reign as Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) champions with a shock 1-0 win in the quarter-finals, with teenager Myriam Nyadjou’s superb long-range free kick also earning them a place at next year’s Women’s World Cup.
Cameroon join Algeria and Morocco as African representatives in the field for the tournament in Brazil after 19-year-old Nyadjou fired home a powerful shot into the corner in the 19th minute.
WAFCON in Morocco serves as the qualifiers for the World Cup with the four quarter-final winners all advancing directly to the 32-team finals from June 24 to July 25, 2027.
Nigeria qualified for all nine previous Women’s World Cup finals but now have to try and gain entry through a complicated play-off route that offers Africa the possibility of two more representatives.
Ten-times champions Nigeria’s defeat guarantees a new WAFCON winner next week. Equatorial Guinea, who did not qualify for this year’s 16-team tournament, and South Africa, who lost 2-1 to hosts Morocco on Saturday, are the only other countries to have previously won the African title.
Later on Sunday, Ghana and Malawi meet in Rabat in the last quarter-final. Ghana were last at the Women’s World Cup in 2007 while Malawi have never qualified.
–Reuters–
