WAFCON 2025: Super Falcons rule Africa again, peck out Atlas Lionesses 3-2 in dramatic comeback
● Win 10th title
Nigeria’s senior national football team, the Super Falcons, late yesterday, Saturday 26th July, staged a dramatic comeback from a two-goal deficit, to break the hearts of millions of Moroccan football fans to lift their record 10th Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title.
Played in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, the hosts took the kick off, and shortly thereafter, the Super Falcons began exerting pressure on them to take an early lead, apparently aiming for avenge their loss to Morocco in their semi-final clash in the same competition in 2024.
However, that was not to be that early as Morocco’s Ghizlane Chebbak, the tournament’s top scorer, wearing No. 7 shirt, beat Nigeria’s goal stopper Chiamaka Nnadozie with a stunning shot for a goal in the 13th minute.
To worsen matters fir Nigeria – temporarily as it would turn out – Morocco’s Mssoudy, in the 28th-minute, received the ball at the left edge of the box and released a left-footed shot that shook the back of the net for goal number two for the hosts.
End of first half, and the scoreline: Morocco 2; Nigeria 0.
The second half started with the Super Falcons showing grit to grab the crown, piling pressure upon pressure on their opponents, with
this paying off in the 63rd minute, when Okoronkwo, spotting shirt number 6,pulled one goal back from the penalty spot.
Then, in the 71st minute, Okoronkwo, striking a superb synergy with Ijamilusi, squared a cut in from the right side of the area for the latter to tap in and square things up for both teams.
Okoronkwo was again involved in the sendoff of the hard-fighting Atlas Lionesses when she curled a left-footed spot kick outside the area for substitute Jeniffer Ejejini to sweep Nigeria’s third and winning goal.
Reacting to Facons’ landmark comeback victory, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, enthused,
“This is more than a win on the pitch; it is a powerful symbol of the strength, discipline, and unbreakable spirit of Nigerian women”, The Punch Online reports.
The statement signed by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jonathan Eze, yersternight, added, “The Super Falcons have once again proven that when Nigerian women lead, they inspire a nation and shine on the world stage.”
She continued, “As Minister of Women Affairs, I am immensely proud. Tonight, every Nigerian girl sees a reflection of her dreams in your victory. You have not only lifted a trophy — you have lifted hearts.”
By the victory, the Nigerian ladies, again mst all odds, yet asserted themselves as the dominant female football team on the African continent. It is a case of Falcons not just outflying racing Lionesses, but taking them as preys.
The match, however. Had its downside with Moroccan fans reportedly flashing laser lights into the eyes of Super Falcons to distort their vision and frustrate them.
FIFA and CAF should investigate this and ensure justice is done to Nigeria if the allegation is found to be true.