Super Falcons players skipped meals after WAFCON loss – Kanu

Super Falcons forward Uchenna Kanu shared the profound emotional toll the team experienced following their WAFCON quarter-final defeat to Cameroon, revealing that several players struggled to eat in the aftermath. The 1-0 loss ended Nigeria's title defense and dashed their hopes of automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, pushing them into a playoff route.

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People are still in their feelings. Some people didn’t even come out today for breakfast. Most of us, like myself, didn’t have breakfast. I didn’t show up to lunch.

Kanu described the lingering disappointment within the team camp, noting that many players were still processing the emotional fallout more than a day after the match. "People are still in their feelings," she told ESPN, adding that she and others skipped meals due to the distress. "We’ve all been down," Kanu stated, emphasizing the shared devastation among teammates who "cried our eyes out."

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We’ve all been down. I cried my eyes out, so did my teammates. We felt really terrible.

Despite the heartbreak, Kanu believes the Super Falcons delivered their best performance of the tournament against Cameroon. However, she acknowledged that the result was insufficient to secure their World Cup ticket. Kanu also pointed to external factors that may have influenced the game, citing concerns about the officiating and the condition of the pitch as not being "the best."

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I know my girls, we did really well. We played our best game so far, but it was not good enough to secure the ticket, and we were all disappointed.

Looking ahead, Kanu urged her teammates to view the defeat as a learning experience. The Super Falcons are now set to face South Africa in a playoff match, with the winner advancing to the intercontinental playoff tournament for the 2027 World Cup. Nigeria has a history of qualifying for every Women's World Cup since its inception in 1991, underscoring the importance of their upcoming playoff.

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A lot of factors played into the game. The officiating was not the best we’ve seen. The officials were not at their best performance. Also, the field was not a great field, to be fair.