Cameroon secured a place in the semi-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after defeating defending champions Nigeria 1-0 in their quarter-final clash in Casablanca on Sunday.
Myriam Maéva Nyadjou Wamen scored in the 19th minute to give the Indomitable Lionesses the lead at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium.
Nigeria dominated much of the latter stages of the first half and continued to press for an equaliser after the restart but were unable to break through Cameroon’s defence.
Cameroon goalkeeper also made a crucial save from close range in the second half to deny the Super Falcons an equaliser.
The defeat ended Nigeria’s title defence and denied the defending champions a place in the semi-finals.
The result also means Nigeria will not secure the automatic qualification ticket for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil that is reserved for the four WAFCON semi-finalists.
Nigeria had entered the quarter-final as defending champions and had dominated their previous meetings with Cameroon at the WAFCON, including a 1-0 quarter-final victory in 2022.
The Super Falcons had also reached the knockout stages at every centralised edition of the competition and were seeking a record-extending 10th appearance at the Women’s World Cup.
Cameroon will advance to the semi-finals, where they will face Morocco, who defeated South Africa 2-1 in their quarter-final.
