Nigeria will take on Zambia in a pivotal TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2026 Group C fixture at Al Madina Stadium in Rabat on Saturday night. Kick-off is scheduled for 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT), with both teams entering the contest under very different circumstances after their opening matches.
Nigeria Seek Immediate Response
Nigeria arrive under pressure after suffering a 3-2 defeat to tournament debutants Malawi in their opening fixture. The defending champions now need a positive result to strengthen their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
The Super Falcons showed attacking promise despite the loss. Rasheedat Ajibade scored her sixth career WAFCON goal, becoming a scorer in a fourth tournament, while Uchenna Kanu added her third finals goal after also scoring twice in the 2022 edition. Ajibade also recorded four of Nigeria’s eight shots on target against Malawi, highlighting her influence in attack.
Another defeat would place Nigeria in unfamiliar territory. It would mark successive WAFCON group-stage defeats for the first time and could also leave the reigning champions facing a historic group-stage elimination if Malawi avoid defeat against Egypt.
Zambia Carry Winning Momentum
Zambia approach the match full of confidence after dismantling Egypt 6-0 in their opening game, the biggest victory in the nation’s WAFCON history.
Captain Barbra Banda stole the headlines with four goals, becoming the first Zambian player to score a hat-trick at the tournament. She has now scored seven WAFCON goals across two editions after also netting three times at the previous finals. Banda’s latest display also marked the fourth occasion she has scored at least three goals in a major international tournament.
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The Copper Queens dominated Egypt with 34 shots, including 12 on target, while Grace Chanda produced six key passes to drive the attack.
A victory, provided Malawi avoid defeat against Egypt, would secure Zambia a place in the knockout rounds for a third consecutive WAFCON tournament.
Strong Head-to-Head Record Favours Nigeria
This will be the fifth WAFCON meeting between Nigeria and Zambia and their third group-stage encounter. Nigeria have won three of the previous four meetings, including commanding 6-0 and 4-0 victories in the 2014 and 2018 group stages.
Zambia’s only win came in the 2022 third-place play-off, a 1-0 success decided by a Nigeria own goal. The most recent meeting ended in a dominant 5-0 quarter-final victory for Nigeria at the last edition.
Overall, Nigeria have outscored Zambia 15-1 across their four previous WAFCON meetings, while no Zambian player has ever scored directly against the Super Falcons in the competition.
With qualification stakes already rising in Group C, Saturday’s contest promises to be one of the defining matches of the group stage.
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