The Super Falcons may have stumbled at the start of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title defence, but former Nigeria winger, Stella Mbachu believes now is not the time for finger-pointing.
Instead, she wants everyone, from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to the players and supporters, to learn from the mistakes, move on quickly and unite behind the team’s pursuit of an 11th continental crown.
Nigeria’s campaign in Morocco got off to a nightmare start with a shocking defeat to tournament debutants Malawi before the defending champions responded by grinding out a courageous 1-0 victory over Zambia despite playing most of the game with 10 players.
While fingers have pointed to the team’s difficult preparations before the tournament, Mbachu admitted those issues played a part but warned against allowing them to become a permanent excuse.
‘Preparation Is Not The Whole Story’ – Stella Warns
The former Super Falcons star acknowledged that Nigeria’s build-up to the tournament fell below the standards expected of defending champions.
According to Mbachu, the absence of quality international friendly matches deprived the team of valuable opportunities to build chemistry and sharpen tactics before arriving in Morocco.
However, she also stressed that the players themselves had remained active throughout the season with their respective clubs, meaning preparation alone cannot explain everything.
“Anyway, it’s a factor that contributed for not doing very well, but let us not just rely on that or base on that, say, because of the preparation, understand?”
“Because I believe them two are in their club side, they have been playing, they have been on, only that the NFF lacks maybe the ability to give them some friendly matches to play.”
These comments reflected the balanced assessment of Nigeria’s situation, while recognizing the shortcomings in preparation without placing all the blame on them.
A Message For Both The NFF And The Players
Rather than dwell on what went wrong, Mbachu believes the experience should serve as an important lesson for everyone involved in Nigerian women’s football.
She called on both the Nigeria Football Federation and the players to reflect on the events leading up to the tournament and ensure similar mistakes are avoided in future competitions.
“Nobody said factors, okay, that contributed, but what are we going to say?”
“I hope everybody have learned, both the NFF and the players themselves.”
For Mbachu, accountability must be shared if Nigeria are to maintain their place as Africa’s dominant force.
‘Forget The Factors… Encourage The Girls’
With the Super Falcons having revived their campaign through a hard-fought victory over Zambia, Mbachu believes the focus must now shift completely to supporting the team instead of revisiting past shortcomings.
The former winger urged Nigerians to rally behind the squad, insisting constant discussions about poor preparation will do little to help the players as the tournament progresses.
“So what do we need now? Just encourage them, you know? Just encourage them to forget about all those factors.”
“If you start counting them now, we won’t achieve anything. Just encourage the girls to go ahead and win the trophy.”
It is a message of unity at a crucial stage of the competition, with the Super Falcons still firmly in contention to defend the title they won last year.
– Read More: WAFCON 2026: Super Falcons Stars Reveal How They Defied the Odds to Defeat Zambia
– Read More: “Don’t Count Us Out!” – MOTM Michelle Alozie After Super Falcons Survive Zambia
– Read More: Down But Never Out! How 10-Woman Super Falcons Escape WAFCON Humiliation
A Lesson For Nigerian Football
Mbachu also expressed hope that the Nigeria Football Federation has recognised the importance of giving the women’s national team better preparation ahead of major tournaments.
She believes the recent events should provide valuable lessons that can strengthen future campaigns.
“I believe the NFF has seen what is the cost of everything.”
“That’s my own opinion, that’s what I have to say about that.”
Despite the early setback against Malawi, Nigeria’s resilient victory over Zambia has breathed fresh life into their WAFCON campaign.
Now, with qualification for the knockout stages back within reach, Mbachu believes the Super Falcons should;
Forget the difficult preparation.
Forget the opening disappointment.
Forget the excuses.
They have one mission which is to win the trophy, because history will remember champions, not the problems they encountered before lifting the cup.
The post “STOP TALKING, START WINNING!” – Stella Mbachu Fires Blunt Warning to Super Falcons appeared first on Latest Sports News In Nigeria.