WAFCON 2026: What Super Falcons must do to reclaim continental title – Ballon d’Or nominee

The Super Falcons of Nigeria have been told where to improve if they’re to claim their eleventh WAFCON tournament in Morocco by a one-time Ballon d’Or nominee, Soccernet.ng reports.

Their head coach, Justine Madugu, was nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or Johan Cruyff Award after winning the previous WAFCON edition in Morocco, and was rewarded with a two-year contract extension.

With a World Cup spot at stake in the WAFCON 2026 tournament, the 62-year-old has revealed where his team needs to improve if they’re to reclaim their title as African Champions.

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Speaking to CAF Online, the former Plateau United coach revealed where the ten-time African Champions must up their game.

“We are not a perfect team yet.

“We have made a lot of observations in the course of the pre-WAFCON matches we played and even during the WAFCON itself.

“We have analysed many areas that we know we need to work on.

“But these are technical areas that we will keep to ourselves while we continue working on them.

“The important thing is that we recognise there is always room for improvement and we will continue striving to make the team better.”

Looking back on the WAFCON 2024 victory, Madugu revealed the journey to receiving the gold medal wasn’t one without hiccups.

“Challenges will always be there. There were a lot of distractions from different angles just to ensure that we lost focus, but we tried as much as possible to keep everybody focused before and during the Nations Cup.

“Even when we got to Morocco, accommodation was an issue and there were financial matters, but we didn’t allow any of those things to distract us because we knew what we were there for.

“The players remained focused, and the harmonious environment we created between the technical crew, backroom staff and players ensured that we did well,” the one-time Ballon d’Or nominee concluded.

The Super Falcons have been drawn into the WAFCON 2026 Group C and their first game will be played against the Scorchers of Malawi at Stade El Barid on the 28th of July.