Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade says Nigeria must learn from their recent setbacks and raise their standards after their 2-1 defeat by South Africa ended the country’s hopes of reaching the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria suffered a damaging week in Morocco, first exiting the 2026 WAFCON at the quarter-final stage before losing to South Africa in the continental play-offs.
The defeat by Cameroon on Sunday was Nigeria’s first failure to reach the WAFCON semi-finals in 14 editions of the competition. That result sent the ten-time African champions into the inter-confederation play-offs, where they faced South Africa with a place at the next Women’s World Cup at stake.
But Nigeria could not recover from their disappointment against Cameroon and were beaten 2-1 by Banyana Banyana on Thursday.
Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane scored for South Africa, while Christy Ucheibe’s late goal proved insufficient to rescue Nigeria’s World Cup hopes.
The result means Nigeria will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time since they began participating in the competition.
It is a significant setback for a side that has traditionally been one of the dominant forces in African women’s football.
Ajibade, who captained the Super Falcons during the campaign, has now reflected on what went wrong and says the team must respond by improving their approach.
The Paris Saint-Germain player featured in every minute of Nigeria’s tournament campaign in Morocco but struggled to influence the decisive matches against Cameroon and South Africa.
Speaking after the defeat to South Africa, Ajibade acknowledged that the players had been taught difficult lessons by their failure.
She highlighted gratitude, preparation and the need to avoid complacency as some of the key areas Nigeria must address.
”To be honest, my biggest lesson is just gratitude. We should be grateful,” Ajibade told Ademola Victor.
The captain also warned that Nigeria could no longer assume they were guaranteed success because of their history and reputation in African football.
”We should learn not to be lax because the competition is fierce now. We must realize we’re not invincible; we just need to prepare more, get better, and demand more of ourselves individually and collectively.”
Her comments come after a tournament in which the Super Falcons faced criticism over their performances.
The players were accused of appearing overconfident and lacking urgency during the WAFCON, although the mood changed dramatically after Thursday’s defeat, with members of the squad visibly distressed at the final whistle.
Nigeria’s loss to Cameroon had already ended their long-standing record of reaching the WAFCON semi-finals. Their defeat by South Africa then delivered an even greater blow by ending their run of appearances at every Women’s World Cup since the tournament began.
For Ajibade, the experience should serve as a warning that Nigeria’s established position in African women’s football can no longer be taken for granted.
South Africa’s victory demonstrated the increasingly competitive nature of the women’s game on the continent and left Nigeria facing a period of uncertainty.
The World Cup failure is also expected to have wider consequences beyond the playing squad. The setback represents a major financial and structural blow to the Nigeria Football Federation, while changes to the Super Falcons set-up and the wider football administration could follow.
For now, Ajibade’s message is focused on learning from the disappointment.
The captain believes Nigeria must prepare more thoroughly, improve collectively and individually, and demand higher standards from themselves if they are to recover their position among Africa’s leading women’s teams.
The immediate pain of missing the 2027 World Cup remains, but the lessons from Morocco could shape what comes next for the Super Falcons.
