Despite Defeat to Cameroon, World Cup Remains Our Target - Super Falcons' Christy Ucheibe

Nigeria/Cameroon: Despite Defeat to Cameroon, World Cup Remains Our Target - Super Falcons' Christy Ucheibe Ucheibe acknowledged that Nigeria gave everything in the contest but admitted that their efforts ultimately fell short, and despite the disappointment of losing their quarter-final, she insisted that Nigeria's World Cup dream is not over Super Falcons midfielder Christy Ucheibe has apologised to Nigerians and admitted that there can be no excuses for Nigeria's failure to secure automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup after their shock elimination from the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations. The defending champions were beaten 1-0 by Cameroon in their quarter-final clash at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Sunday, with Myriam Maeva Nyadjou's thunderous 19th-minute strike enough to send the Indomitable Lionesses into the semi-finals. The defeat ended Nigeria's hopes of retaining their continental crown and also denied the Super Falcons one of the four automatic World Cup tickets available to the WAFCON semi-finalists. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn Ucheibe acknowledged that Nigeria gave everything in the contest but admitted that their efforts ultimately fell short. "We gave everything we had, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough. There is no excuse. We are very disappointed because we wanted to go further and qualify automatically for the World Cup," she said. The Benfica midfielder also expressed regret to Nigerians, saying the squad understands the disappointment that followed their early exit. "We are sorry to Nigerians that we couldn't advance in the competition. We know how much the country expects from us, and we feel that disappointment as well," she added. Nigeria had several opportunities to get back into the game but found Cameroon's defence difficult to break down, with goalkeeper Michaely Bihina producing a standout performance. Bihina made a spectacular save to deny Uchenna Kanu in the 70th minute, while Chiamaka Nnadozie was also called into action at the other end to prevent Cameroon from extending their lead. Substitute Esther Okoronkwo came close to rescuing Nigeria late on, but her effort drifted narrowly wide with Asisat Oshoala waiting in a promising position for what could have been a simple tap-in. Despite the disappointment of losing their quarter-final, Ucheibe insisted that Nigeria's World Cup dream is not over. The Super Falcons still have a second route to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup through the CAF play-off system, which involves the four teams eliminated at the quarter-final stage. Nigeria will face South Africa, who lost to hosts Morocco in their own quarter-final, in the CAF play-off on Thursday, 13 August. Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Victory would send the Super Falcons into the inter-confederation play-off pathway, where they will have another opportunity to secure qualification for the World Cup in Brazil. Ucheibe urged her teammates to quickly put the defeat to Cameroon behind them and focus on the opportunity that remains. "We have to move on now. The World Cup is still our target, and we have to fight for that opportunity in the play-offs." With their WAFCON title defence over, Nigeria now face another crucial battle against South Africa, with their historic record of qualifying Read the original article on Premium Times. Nigeria West Africa Sport Cameroon World Cup Central Africa AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us. AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Support our work Sign up for our newsletter For Advertisers Subscribe © 2026 AllAfrica Privacy Policy Contact Us About Us Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.