Nigeria’s Super Falcons for the third time in the history of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) will not be lifting title, as they lost 5-4 on penalties to Morocco on Monday after the game ended 1-1.
Halimatu Ayinde and Rasheedat Ajibade were sent off after a VAR review adjudged that both players to have been guilty of dangerous challenges. The team had to play over 50 minutes with a 2-man disadvantage.
The defeat means that the defending champions will not be in the final of the tournament for the third time since it began in 1991. The other two occasions were in 2008 and 2012. The Falcons finished in third and fourth place respectively and Equatorial Guinea won on both occasions.
Nigeria will face Zambia in a third place match on Friday while both South Africa and Morocco will face off in the final on Saturday.
With both South Africa and Morocco reaching the final, the continent is expected to crown a new WAFCON champion.