Former Nigeria international Ifeanyi Udeze has expressed shock following the Super Falcons 3-2 defeat to WAFCON debutants Malawi on Tuesday.
Despite going into the contest as underdogs, Malawi came out tops thanks to Chawinga sisters Temwa and Tabitha who got the three goals.
Chawinga Sisters Go On Rampage Against Super Falcons
Temwa put Malawi in front on 69th minute before Tabitha doubled the lead with 10 minutes later.
Rasheedat Ajibade reduced the deficit after converting from the penalty spot to make it 2-1 in the 92nd minute.
But in the 95th minute Temwa got her second strike to extend Malawi’s lead to 3-1 before Uchenna Kanu got a consolation goal on 99 minutes.
Reacting to the shock defeat Udeze stated that he cannot understand how the 10 times African champions fell to the African minnows.
Also Read: WAFCON 2026: Super Falcons Will Bounce Back From Malawi Defeat — Oshoala
“I didn’t expect it, I don’t understand how it happened, how come Malawi beat the Super Falcons,” Udeze said on BRILA FM. “I said something about underrating any team, that you must give their all so I feel the Super Falcons underrated them.”
All Hopes Not Yet Lost
Despite the defeat, Udeze expressed confidence that the Super Falcons can bounce back in their second group fixture with Zambia.
“This is a lesson and I hope they’ve learnt their lesson and I believe they can bounce back against Zambia.”
In their opening game against Egypt, the Copper Queens secured a dominant 5-0 win with star striker Barbra Banda getting four of the goals.
Huge Zambia Test
The Super Falcons would hope to bounce back against Zambia in their second fixture on Saturday, August 1.
When both teams clashed in the quarterfinals of the WAFCON 2024, the Super Falcons recorded a dominant 5-0 win.
By James Agberebi
6 Comments
Home base coach will not take this team anywhere.
Same “Home base Coach” won the WAFCON tournament a year ago in same Morocco pitch, beating a Spanish world cup winning Coach of Morocco to the title in the final match. Same home based coach won the “Women’s African Coach of the Tournament and of the year award, about 7 months ago, beating the likes of Spanish Moroccan coach; thrashing Swedish Zambian Coach on the way to completion of “Mission X” only a year ago! Perhaps some of the blame should go to lacklustre SF players- who came with too much arrogance and underated a very fit and agile Malawian girls compared to the aging SF team, the later thinking they only need to turn up and victory is assured.
Not that Coach Madugu does not deserve some blame, especially with the selection of the squad- relying on old, unfit players, instead of injecting many players from the U-20 Falconets squad, especially the likes of the burstling, very fit 18- year old striker Janet, now with Benfica feminine in Portugal. Even an injection of younger blood from the last U-17 girls with more energy to mix with the experienced older girls in SF will not be a bad idea!
Bottom line is that younger bloods need to be injected into the SF squad to mix up with the older, more experienced women. The African game is becoming too physical and pacier for the likes of Ordega, Oshoala and the Ohales.
The home based coach had all along had the philosophy that “the older the better”. Is he now the one to inject younger and fitter players? No way.
So, he doesn’t have a goal. We said last year many of his winning team were gonna be 29 or older so he should have scouted new players not knowing he loved them older lol.
A foreigner WOULD HAVE FORCED NFF to fix games for his team but this local man told the whole world, the whole world is scared to face Nigeria.
That is who NFF dictates to.
Older, the better wants to create unwanted history.
“Esther, go back, back” lol will want a miracle on Saturday on the ingenuity and desperation of his older the better players.
NO freaking third position oh
No tactical analysis, you’re only surprised why Falcons lost. This explains why our teams continue to plummet: Poor coaching and technical inputs.
I am not sure if the Technical team has separate Video and Performance analysts to guide the coach in studying opposition teams’ strength and weaknesses. It is clear that both Coach Madugu and the SF girls becer studied or analysed the Malawian Scorchers before yesterday’s WAFCON match.
They underestimated the Malawian girls simply because they had no name, and are debutants to this tournament- and probably felt all they need do is turn-up on the pitch and the debutants will just melt and fold for their crushing defeat. But that was daftness at its peak to underate a team with the future, pacy and free-goal scoring forwards Chawinga sisters (Temwa and Tabitha) at top clubs in the US NWSL US and Europe Champions league serial winners, Olympic uefa Lyon.
The touch of Randy Waldrum finally disappeared. Madugu rode on the crest of Waldrum’s achievement up till the last WAFCON. Now, I want to see what technical inputs Madugu has up his sleeves. He must turn this slide around. Otherwise, he has nothing to prove.