By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
As Super Falcons’ head coach Justine Madugu leads his wards out tomorrow against Egypt in their crucial final Group C match at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) at Olympic Stadium Rabat with qualification for the knockout stage at stake, he will also be playing his 22nd match incharge of the reigning African champions.
Madugu whose 20th Grade A match in charge of the 10-time champions was marred by the 3-2 loss to WAFCON debutants Malawi a week ago in the opening match of the tournament, has made an amend after Nigeria beat Zambia 1-0 in his 21st match as Super Falcons gaffer last Sunday.
The Adamawa state-born coach who replaced the man he assisted and former head coach Randy Waldrum in October 2024, has led the Super Falcons to play a total of 21 matches with a 70% winning rate. He has won 15 games and drew three.
Under him, Super Falcons have lost only three matches including the WAFCON 3-2 defeat by Malawi; 2-1 loss to Les Bleus, France senior women’s football team on Saturday, November 30, 2024 in Angers and 1-0 to Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses in Yaounde on February 28,2026, all friendly matches.
A closer look at his performance record showed that his team does not lose matches easily and the Super Falcons lost by odd goal in the three occasions Nigeria lost under Madugu.
His team has also outscored their opponents by two goals 12 times out of 21 matches and had hit Zambia 5-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2024 WAFCON played in Morocco last year.
Against this backdrop, there is high possibility that Madugu led Super Falcons are capable of scoring more than two goals when Nigeria meets Egypt tomorrow in the win or burst encounter that will determine if Nigeria will progress to the quarterfinals or take early flight back to Abuja, Nigeria’s political capital.
It is unlikely that Egypt will survive the 90 minutes onslaught of the very experienced Nigerian side parading a large contingent of overseas-based professional players in the squad as against the Egypt’s squad featuring a heavy reliance on domestic players.
Aside from three or four overseas-based or diaspora players included in their setup such as U.S. college-sutured or Canadian-based diaspora prospects like Leia Khairy, Christina Salama, and Sienna Church, Egypt came with no fewer than 19 home-based players from local clubs like Pyramids FC, Al Ahly, FC Maser and Zamalek women’s football club.
Will the Egyptian ladies withstand the superior firepower of the battle-tested Super Falcons led by a Ballon d’Or nominee coach Madugu tomorrow?
Time will tell.
Justine Madugu’s 21-Match Scorecard At A Glance
Matches: 21
Win: 15
Draw: 3
Loss: 3
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