WAFCON 2026: ‘Every country wants to beat Nigeria’ – Super Falcons hunt for 11th title

Previous WAFCONs have seen Nigeria’s preparation time limited, with Madugu and his staff having the luxury of multiple friendlies to run the rule over the current squad.

A double header against Cameroon earlier in the year, two warm-up matches against Senegal in June and a win over Tanzania last week.

Twenty-one-year-old goalkeeper Comfort Erhaber, Nadoji’s backup, is one of the new faces brought in by Madugu.

Born in the Netherlands and raised in England, he made his debut against Cameroon.

“I respect a lot the trust he (Madugu) has in our young players,” he said.

“I didn’t expect to blend in so quickly and so well with the team. But they accepted me with open arms.”

Erhabor currently plays in the third tier of English football for Portsmouth, a city an hour’s drive from Brighton along the south coast, where Nadozi runs his business.

Describing Nigeria’s number one as “a big sister” she hangs out with, she says it was “a no-brainer” in choosing her international allegiance.

“It’s in my blood, so I felt there was no greater honor than representing my roots, and also making my parents proud.

“I love the culture, and a big thing for me is how open everyone here is to Christianity and religion, because I felt like it would allow me to be part of the team, faith-based, and express myself.”

While Madugu is looking for a heavenly blend of youth and experience, Omewa describes the star names he is training now as “golden” as opposed to older.

“We wouldn’t be here today without them.

“As they come into the team, teach us how to do it, we learn from those guys.”

Fellow striker Oshoala, who is chasing his fifth WAFCON title, is one of those to whom Omewa is grateful.

“He’s a really amazing person. He’s someone you can talk to, share experiences with and he tells you things he’s been through.

“I think he’s a really good mentor.”

Nigeria are without all their stars, with centre-back Ashleigh Plumptre, a central figure in last year’s Wafcon campaign, out with a foot injury.

The squad has also been rocked by theft after landing in Morocco, with player of the match forward Esther Okoronko reportedly missing hundreds of dollars in last year’s finals.

In terms of prize money, this year’s tournament pot has been doubled, with winners picking up $2m (£1.5m) – a growing indicator of the continued growth in African women’s football.

But despite the increasing level of competition, Nigeria remains the team to beat.