WAFCON: Super Falcons still improving, says coach Madugu

Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu says his team is growing stronger after their emphatic 5-0 win over Zambia in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) quarter-final.

Following a mixed performance in the group stage, Nigeria produced their most convincing display of the tournament on Friday, overpowering the Copper Queens with attacking flair.

Speaking after the match, Madugu said the team had continued to develop with each game, noting that Zambia’s more open style allowed Nigeria to play their natural game.

“In our earlier matches, most teams sat back and defended deep, which made it harder for us to find space and play our usual attacking football,” he said. “But Zambia were more adventurous, and that opened things up for us.”

He credited the improvement to consistent work on final passes and finishing, saying the squad treated the tournament as a work in progress and worked hard to fix areas where they had fallen short.

Madugu also defended the team’s earlier performances, saying the players had been creating chances but struggling to convert them. “We gave our all in the group stage too. We just weren’t putting the chances away. But today, everything clicked.”

With momentum building, Nigeria will face either defending champions South Africa or Senegal in the semi-finals on Tuesday.