WAFCON: Falcons players skipped meals after Cameroon defeat — Kanu

Super Falcons forward Uchenna Kanu has revealed that some Nigeria players struggled to eat the day after their emotional WAFCON quarter-final defeat to Cameroon.

Nigeria’s title defence ended with a 1-0 loss to Cameroon in Casablanca, a result that also denied the Super Falcons automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

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Cameroon advanced to the semi-finals and secured one of Africa’s automatic World Cup qualification spots, leaving Nigeria to pursue qualification through the play-off route.

Kanu said the disappointment remained evident in the team’s camp more than a day after the defeat, with several players still struggling to come to terms with the result.

“People are still in their feelings,” Kanu told ESPN on Tuesday.

“Some people didn’t even come out today for breakfast. Most of us, like myself, didn’t have breakfast. I didn’t show up to lunch.”

The Cruz Azul forward said she eventually managed to eat later in the afternoon but noted that many of her teammates were experiencing similar emotions.

“We’ve all been down,” she said.

Kanu, who came on in the 38th minute against Cameroon, said the players were devastated by the outcome.

“I cried my eyes out, so did my teammates. We felt really terrible,” she said.

“That was not the promise we made to Nigerians, and it was a very disappointing night for all of us.”

Cameroon scored the only goal of the match in the 19th minute through Myriam Nyadjou before holding on against sustained Nigerian pressure.

Despite the defeat, Kanu believes the Super Falcons produced their best performance of the tournament but were unable to convert their opportunities.

“I know my girls, we did really well. We played our best game so far, but it was not good enough to secure the ticket, and we were all disappointed,” she said.

The forward also pointed to the quality of the pitch and officiating as factors that affected the game.

“A lot of factors played into the game. The officiating was not the best we’ve seen. The officials were not at their best performance. Also, the field was not a great field, to be fair,” Kanu said.

With Nigeria’s continental title defence over, Kanu urged her teammates to use the setback as motivation and focus on their remaining World Cup qualification opportunity.

“We would take it as a lesson learned, and we build with it, and we look forward to putting everything right on Thursday, leaving everything on the field on Thursday against South Africa,” she said.

Nigeria will face South Africa in the play-off, with the winner advancing to FIFA’s intercontinental play-off tournament for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

The Super Falcons have qualified for every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991, and Kanu stressed the importance of preserving that record.

“Hopefully, by the end of the game on Thursday, we would feel alive again.”

Despite missing out on a direct qualification spot, Nigeria still have a route to the 2027 World Cup.

“Right now, emotions are very down. We’re putting our best, and we hope to eventually secure the ticket for the 2027 World Cup,” Kanu said.

“Our main focus right now would be on Thursday’s game, and hopefully we progress from there.”