WAFCON 2026 PREVIEW: Nigeria’s dominance faces Cameroon test with World Cup ticket at stake

Nigeria are the defending champions and most successful team in the history of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON. They will face Cameroon in the quarter-finals, with the winner automatically qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. According to Daily Post Nigeria, analyst Solace Chukwu expects the match to be physical and contested keenly, with the outcome likely to be decided by a single goal.

Cameroon have reached the knockout stage unbeaten, while Nigeria began their title defence with a shock defeat to Malawi before bouncing back to beat Zambia and Egypt. Daily Post Nigeria reports that Chukwu believes Nigeria have shown some improvement since their early setback, but notes that it is hard to read too much into their recent performances.

The quarter-finals also feature a match between Morocco and South Africa, with a place in the semi-finals and automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup at stake, according to Punch Nigeria. IOL reports that South Africa's Banyana Banyana must navigate the play-offs to reach the 2027 World Cup after a disappointing quarter-final exit against host nation Morocco.

Brief written by urgent.news from Premium Times, Daily Post Nigeria, IOL, Punch Nigeria — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.