Madugu says Nigeria not concerned facing Zambia in WAFCON quarters

Nigeria’s women’s national team coach Justin Madugu has confidently said they don’t fear coming up against Zambia in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

While Nigeria topped their Group B with seven points amassed from two wins, and one draw, Zambia finished second in Group A second with seven points, the same as leaders Morocco, but the latter had a better goal aggregate.

Speaking on learning that they will face Ghana in the last eight, Madugu told reporters as quoted by Bola News: “We know that we’re playing Zambia. We are aware of that. Like I said at the press conference, the pre-match press conference, from when the schedules were out, you have to anticipate who and who you will come up against, and then what are the likely plans you equally have for them. We have watched some of their games.

“We know some of their players. We’ll see. Go back and continue our analysis of the team, their strengths, and their weaknesses, just as we know they will equally be doing. So it’s not anything of concern for us because, like I said, for you to win the tournament, you must win all your matches. And so that is what we are going into. There is no room for errors.”

Madugu, however, admitted concerns with the team’s lack of goals in the tournament. Nigeria scored four goals from three group matches. Their goals came in a 3-0 win against Tunisia and 1-0 win against Botswana.

“Prior to this tournament, we’ve been playing matches, and a lot of them [players] have been scoring goals. In this tournament, scoring has become a challenge for us. We have to really go back and do a lot,” added Madugu.

“We have little time to be able to work on that, but it’s an area that is becoming a cause of concern and worry for us. The same players who were scoring goals before now are the same players that are still playing so why they are not getting goals is something that we have to look at and then work on.”

The last time Nigeria and Zambia faced off in the WAFCON was at the 2022 edition, where the Copper Queens claimed a 1-0 victory in the bronze medal playoff.