Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie insists the Super Falcons still have a route to the 2027 Women's World Cup despite crashing out of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Defending champions Nigeria were eliminated at the quarter-final stage after a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon on Sunday, a result that also cost them automatic qualification for next year's expanded 32-team World Cup in Brazil.
Cameroon's progress to the semi-finals secures their place at the tournament, joining fellow last-four qualifiers Algeria, Malawi and hosts Morocco as Africa's automatic representatives. That leaves Nigeria, who have appeared at every Women's World Cup since the first edition in 1991, needing to find another way through.
Justin Madugu's side will now meet South Africa in a play-off on Thursday, with the winner advancing to an inter-confederation qualifying tournament later this year that offers a fresh chance at World Cup qualification. Ghana and Ivory Coast will contest a similar play-off for Africa's second available slot in that global qualifying route.
The two African play-off winners will join eight other nations in a global qualifying competition beginning with a preliminary round in November and December. A final round in February will determine the last three teams to qualify for the World Cup, which kicks off on 24 June 2027.
Nnadozie, speaking to the BBC World Service, said the squad had no choice but to regroup quickly after the setback in Casablanca.
"This is football, this is life," she said. "What happened happened, we just have to keep our heads high. There's still hope - it's not over yet."
She added that the players had drawn support from their coaching staff in the aftermath of the defeat. "The coach has been cheering us up, and we really appreciate that from him," Nnadozie said. "On Thursday we'll go out strong, we'll try to do better than we've done [against Cameroon] and hope to get to the next stage of the World Cup. We will go there and make things right."
Nigeria's exit ended their bid for a record-extending Wafcon title, though midfielder Jennifer Echegini felt the performance against Cameroon did not reflect the outcome. "I think we were just a bit unfortunate," she said. "I think honestly [it was] one of our better games. We created a lot more opportunities. The ball just didn't go the way we wanted it to. But it's not over yet. Unfortunately, it is for the Wafcon. But in terms of World Cup qualifiers, there's still a lot to fight for."
Cameroon's win was settled by a first-half free-kick from teenager Myriam Nyadjou, while goalkeeper Michaely Bihina produced a series of important saves to preserve the lead. The victory sends the Indomitable Lionesses back to the World Cup for the first time since 2019.
Forward Naomi Eto acknowledged the nature of the win but praised her side's resilience. "We can say it was an ugly win because they attacked a lot, but we were very, very strong defensively," she told the BBC. "[It has] always been a dream to play the World Cup. We've been waiting for this moment for the longest [time] and it's finally arrived."
With both Nigeria and South Africa - the 2022 Wafcon winners - eliminated over the weekend, the tournament is guaranteed a new champion. Hosts Morocco face Cameroon in Wednesday's semi-final, while Algeria take on Malawi in the other last-four tie, with the final scheduled for Sunday.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport (BBC World Service).