Malawi loss wake-up call – Madugu

July 30, 2026 12:06 am

Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has described Nigeria’s shock 3-2 defeat to Women’s Africa Cup of Nations debutants Malawi as a timely wake-up call, insisting criticism over his team selection and player positioning was inevitable after a loss, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Madugu accepted responsibility for one of Nigeria’s most surprising defeats in WAFCON history, but rejected suggestions that deploying players outside their preferred positions had contributed to the result. One of the major talking points after the match was his decision to field Michelle Alozie at left-back, a call that drew criticism from supporters and pundits, though the coach maintained it was not responsible for Nigeria’s defensive lapses.

“When things like this happen, everybody has their opinion. Everybody is entitled to say whatever they say,” Madugu told reporters.

“If we had won, the comments people would be making would not be the same.”

The coach pointed to previous tournaments where similar adjustments had worked, recalling Ashleigh Plumptre’s performances at left-back despite it not being her natural position.

“When we played the last edition, and Ashleigh played at left full-back, she wasn’t a left full-back, but she did very well, and everybody appreciated her performances,” he said.

“We had some challenges in defence, and I think Michelle deserves to be commended because she gave everything and played very well. The mistake didn’t come from her position. It’s not her involvement in that area that caused the goals we conceded. She’s a good defender, and if we didn’t believe she could play there, we wouldn’t have selected her.”

Despite standing by his choices, Madugu acknowledged that responsibility for the defeat rested with the technical crew.

“There will always be criticism when things go wrong. We accept those comments, and we accept responsibility for what happened. We’ll go back, analyse our mistakes and work to correct them,” he said.

“It’s a wake-up call for all of us. We know the importance of this tournament, and we’re not taking anything for granted.”

The coach also rejected suggestions that Nigeria had underestimated Malawi, instead crediting the Scorchers’ improvement to the steady growth of women’s football across the continent and their regular exposure to COSAFA competitions.

“We never took them for granted. We’ve been following their progress and knew they were a good side,” he said.

“They prepared very well, and playing regularly within the COSAFA region has helped improve teams from that part of Africa. Any team that qualifies for the WAFCON deserves respect. Malawi played well, earned the result and deserved the victory.”

Nigeria must now regroup quickly ahead of a pivotal Group C clash against Zambia, with the defending champions seeking an immediate response to keep their hopes of retaining the WAFCON title on track.

Peter Akinbo

Peter, who has been covering sports for PUNCH for close to two years, focuses on combat sports reporting, special features and human angle stories

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