Cameroon have secured a place in the semi-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after defeating defending champions Nigeria 1-0 in their quarter-final clash in Casablanca on Sunday. Myriam Maéva Nyadjou Wamen scored the decisive goal in the 19th minute at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium to give the Indomitable Lionesses an early lead. The Super Falcons responded strongly after conceding and dominated much of the latter stages of the first half as they searched for an equaliser. Nigeria continued to apply pressure after the restart, creating opportunities around the Cameroon penalty area, but the Super Falcons were unable to find a way through the Indomitable Lionesses’ defence. Cameroon’s goalkeeper also produced a crucial close-range save in the second half to deny Nigeria an equaliser and preserve her side’s advantage. Despite Nigeria’s sustained pressure, Cameroon held on to secure a 1-0 victory and book their place in the last four of the competition. The defeat ended Nigeria’s defence of the WAFCON title and denied the Super Falcons a place in the semi-finals. The result also means Nigeria will miss out on one of the four automatic qualification places for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil reserved for the WAFCON semi-finalists. Nigeria had entered the quarter-final as defending champions and had enjoyed a dominant record against Cameroon in previous WAFCON meetings. The Super Falcons had defeated the Indomitable Lionesses 1-0 in their quarter-final encounter in 2022 and were seeking another victory to continue their title defence. Nigeria had also reached the knockout stages at every centralised edition of the WAFCON and were aiming to extend their record of appearances at the FIFA Women’s World Cup to 10. Cameroon’s victory, however, ended those hopes and sent the Indomitable Lionesses into the semi-finals. Cameroon will face Morocco in the semi-finals after the hosts defeated South Africa 2-1 in their quarter-final. The victory gives Cameroon an opportunity to advance to the final of the continental competition, while Nigeria will now turn their attention to regrouping after their unexpected exit from the tournament.
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