Nigeria’s Super Falcons have failed to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup after losing 2–1 to South Africa in the Confederation of African Football play-off at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The defeat ends Nigeria’s hopes of maintaining their record of featuring in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Falcons had missed out on an automatic World Cup qualification spot after suffering a quarter-final defeat to Cameroon on Sunday.
That loss also ended Nigeria’s long-standing record of reaching at least the semi-finals of every previous WAFCON edition and resulted in the team’s worst-ever finish in the competition.
Nigeria were handed another opportunity to secure a route to the 2027 World Cup through the play-offs, but they could not overcome South Africa.
The result means the Super Falcons will miss the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, bringing an end to Nigeria’s uninterrupted appearance at the tournament since its inception in 1991.