WAFCON 2022: Cameroon, Nigeria set for explosive quarter-final clash

Only one of these two heavyweights, Cameroon and Nigeria, can secure direct entry to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup as both sides are set to clash in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations today.

After getting off to a slow start in the tournament, the continent’s top two teams had to settle for second place in their respective groups and now have to lock horns earlier than many expected. This will be the first time the Women’s AFCON is having a quarter-final stage and this is as a result of the increase in the number of participants to 12 (from eight).

The beaten side will on July 17 participate in a play-off for two slots in a 10-team intercontinental play-off tournament which will take place in New Zealand from February 17-23 to determine the last three 2023 World Cup teams.

At the last World Cup, France 2019, the Indomitable Lionesses and the Super Falcons reached the round of 16, marking the first time ever that two African teams have progressed to the knockout stage of the competition.

The expansion of the World Cup from 24 to 32 teams resulting in more slots for Africa – from three in 2019 to a possible six in 2023 – definitely gave this year’s 12 WAFCON teams, including four debutants, an extra motivation. On the whole, the underdogs proved stubborn for their more experienced opponents.

After 18 matches that produced a total of 48 goals, the intriguing group stage of the Women’s AFCON, which began in Morocco on 2 July, has come to an end. VAR also got its fair share of attention and has so far garnered more plaudits than criticism.

Tipped by many to dominate their respective groups, Cameroon and Nigeria needed a wake-up call to jolt into their strides. Three-time runners up Cameroon went into their final group game with only two points and one goal to their name. And one of their draws came against debutants Togo who celebrated their historic point like they had won the tournament. 

Meanwhile, the Super Falcons were below par in their opening 2-1 defeat to eternal rivals the Banyana Banyana of South Africa, with some players being played out of position. Their performance improved in the following games against Botswana and Burundi as they scored six goals across both games and conceded none.

This is unarguably the biggest tie in the quarter-finals and will mark the end of the road for one of the tournament’s favourites. Cameroon have never won the title while Nigeria have won it nine times. Since the inception of the WAFCON in 1998 both sides have met each other 12 times with Nigeria losing just once – that was in 2012 when Cameroon enjoyed a 1-0 victory in the third-place match.

Since then they have met twice in the final (2014 and 2016) and once in the semis (2018), with Nigeria winning all – the latter went into penalties after a goalless draw. – AIPS