Oshoala revives Nigeria's Wafcon and World Cup bid
Nigeria secured a 1-0 victory against Zambia in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) despite playing with ten players for most of the match. Asisat Oshoala scored the decisive goal, keeping Nigeria's hopes alive for the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Why it matters
This match is critical for qualification to the 2027 Women's World Cup, impacting the tournament trajectory for African teams.
Nigeria revived their hopes of reaching the 2027 Women's World Cup with a nervy 1-0 win over Zambia at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, despite having a player sent off late in the first half.
This edition of the continental tournament in Morocco doubles up as a qualifier for next year's global showpiece, with all four Wafcon semi-finalists booking a ticket to Brazil and the losing quarter-finalists having a chance to enter inter-confederation play-offs.
Nigeria headed into Saturday's Group C clash with the Copper Queens on the brink of an early exit after falling to a shock 3-2 defeat against debutants Malawi in their opener on Tuesday.
The West Africans made a good start when forward Asisat Oshoala put them ahead in the eighth minute when the ball bobbled in off her right thigh after her initial attempt was saved by Zambia goalkeeper Hazel Nali .
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