PSG forward Rasheedat Ajibade says Nigeria must wake up after a humbling week in Morocco, declaring that the Super Falcons are “no longer invincible.”
Ajibade played every minute of Nigeria’s WAFCON campaign but struggled to influence games against Cameroon and South Africa. Speaking after Thursday’s playoff defeat to Banyana Banyana, the former Atletico Madrid star said the losses were a necessary reality check.
“To be honest, my biggest lesson is just gratitude. We should be grateful,” Ajibade said.
“We should learn not to be lax because the competition is fierce now. We must realize we’re not invincible. We just need to prepare more, get better, and demand more of ourselves individually and collectively.”
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It has been a disastrous week for Nigerian football. On Sunday, the ten-time African champions were knocked out in the WAFCON quarterfinals following a 1-0 loss to Cameroon. It was the first time in 14 editions that Nigeria failed to reach the semifinals.
That result sent the Falcons to the inter-confederation playoffs, where a World Cup ticket was on the line. They fell 2-1 to South Africa on Thursday. Goals from Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane cancelled out Christy Ucheibe’s late strike.
For the first time since debuting at the tournament, Nigeria will miss the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
