Cup holders and 10-time champions Nigeria lead a cast of heavyweights who have put themselves in good positions to advance to next year’s Women Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) finals – the 14th edition to be hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco.
Hosts Morocco, losing finalists in the past two editions that they hosted (lost to South Africa in 2022 and to Nigeria this summer), have qualified automatically as hosts of the championship to be staged 17th March – 3rd April.
While the Super Falcons were underscoring their superiority over African opposition by defeating the Amazons of Bénin Republic 2-0 in Lome on Friday, Zambia won their away tie 4-2 to Namibia in Windhoek. They have a simple job to do in the return leg in Ndola on Tuesday.
Ghana’s Black Queens trashed hosts Egypt 3-0, with the return leg set for Accra on Tuesday, while Mali’s senior girls got the better of Cape Verde 1-0 away in Praia.
Angola and Malawi ended their first leg in Luanda scoreless, same as Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire in Dakar, while hosts Kenya saw off The Gambia 3-1 in Nairobi and Algeria edged Cameroon 2-1.
Burkina Faso and Tanzania have decent 2-0 leads on Togo and Ethiopia respectively going for their return legs on away ground, while South Africa’s Banyana Banyana forced the Democratic Republic of Congo to a 1-1 draw away from home.
Ethiopia hosts Tanzania in Addis Ababa on Sunday, while all 10 other return-leg encounters take place on Tuesday.
Nigeria host Bénin’s Amazons at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta, from 4pm, with a two-goal cushion from the first leg courtesy Chinwendu Ihezuo and Esther Okoronkwo.