Madugu Reassures Nigerians of High Spirit, Hunger, in Falcons Camp

The Nigeria Women’s National Football Team head coach, Justine Madugu, was confident in the hunger and drive of the Super Falcons, after his side’s impressive 3-1 victory over rivals Ghana in a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) preparatory match on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

The Super Falcons who got over a shaky start against Portugal in an earlier friendly encounter to grab a draw, put up a better showing against their African counterparts in the closed-door game played at the Ziaida Palace Benslimane field.

Speaking after the encounter, Madugu stated the importance of the match in assessing the team’s strength as a group, and in building on team cohesion and coordination.

“The match gave us the opportunity of having the full squad together to really assess our strength as a team, and build on team cohesion, coordination and on various combinations.

“It will always be work in progress, but we are very focused on our realisable and achievable target of Mission X. The girls are ready and are showing real hunger for victory and team spirit is high. We are looking forward to our first match on Sunday against Tunisia, Madugu said.”

Madugu who was appointed as Super Falcons head coach following the departure of Randy Waldrum in 2024 was at the helm of affairs when the Falcons eased to victory against Ethiopia in the qualifying race for the 2024 Olympics, and also led the team to crush Cape Verde to secure qualification for the 13th Women AFCON, which kicks off on Saturday.

Last year, Madugu led the Falcons to rout Algeria’s senior girls in two friendly matches in Ikenne and Lagos, and restricted France to an odd-goal victory in another friendly match in France in November.This year, Madugu has led the Super Falcons to a 2-0 win over Cameroon in a friendly game in Cameroon, and on Monday last week, picked a team that fought hard against Portugal in a 0-0 draw in Lisbon.

“We will continue to work on our weak areas, and I believe that by the time of our first match, we will be ready,” Madugu added.

The prestigious tournament(The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), will take place from Saturday, July 5, to Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Morocco. The Super Falcons are aiming for their 10th title, having previously won the championship nine times (in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2018) since the tournament was fully established in 1998, when they hosted and emerged victorious.