Cameroon have contested three Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.
All three were against Nigeria.
And they lost all three.
Today’s meeting will not be a final, but the immediate consequence will be almost as important. The winners will advance to the semi-finals and qualify directly for the 2027 World Cup.
For Cameroon, that would mean returning eight years after their last appearance. For Nigeria, it would extend an uninterrupted World Cup presence dating back to the inaugural edition in 1991.
This will be the 14th meeting between the two teams at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since 1998. The previous 13 produced nine Nigerian victories, three draws and only one Cameroon win.
History clearly favours the defending champions.
Three finals decided by increasingly narrow margins
The first final came in 2004.
Nigeria defeated Cameroon 5-0, the largest winning margin recorded in a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
They met again in the tournament’s deciding match ten years later. Nigeria won 2-0 in Namibia.
The third opportunity arrived in 2016 and appeared to offer Cameroon the conditions required to change their history. The Indomitable Lionesses were hosting the tournament and reached the final with their home crowd behind them in Yaoundé.
The match remained level until the 84th minute.
Desire Oparanozie then scored the only goal and delivered another title to Nigeria.
Cameroon had reduced the margin from 5-0 in 2004 to 1-0 in 2016, but all three finals ended in the same way.
Nigeria also ended Cameroon’s last two knockout runs
The rivalry continued after their most recent final.
Cameroon and Nigeria drew 0-0 in the 2018 semi-finals. The Super Falcons won the penalty shootout 4-2 and went on to lift the trophy again.
Four years later, they met one round earlier.
Rasheedat Ajibade scored the only goal in the 2022 quarter-final. The 1-0 victory sent Nigeria into the semi-finals and the 2023 World Cup, while Cameroon had to pursue a different route.
Cameroon subsequently defeated Botswana in the African play-off and advanced to the inter-confederation tournament. They beat Thailand there but lost 2-1 to Portugal in the deciding match and missed the World Cup.
Cameroon’s only victory in their 13 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations meetings with Nigeria came in 2012. It was a 1-0 win in the third-place play-off, when neither team could advance any further towards the title.
Cameroon have never eliminated Nigeria from the tournament.
Cameroon have already beaten Nigeria this year
The most recent meeting tells a different story.
Cameroon defeated Nigeria 1-0 in a friendly played in Yaoundé on 28 February 2026. Yvana Mbomozomo scored in the 89th minute.
Cameroon used a squad composed mainly of players from their domestic league. The result did not deliver a trophy or qualification, but it demonstrated that they could overcome Nigeria.
That victory came during preparations for a tournament Cameroon had not initially qualified for.
The Indomitable Lionesses were eliminated in qualifying, but the expansion of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations from 12 to 16 teams gave them a second opportunity. Cameroon were one of four teams added through the FIFA Women’s World Ranking.
They are now one victory from the World Cup.
Cameroon enter unbeaten; Nigeria recovered after defeat
The two teams reached the quarter-finals by different routes.
Cameroon finished top of Group D with seven points. They defeated Mali 2-1, beat Ghana 1-0 and completed the group stage with a 1-1 draw against Cape Verde.
Marie Ngah Manga scored in both victories and converted the penalty that decided the match against Ghana. Cameroon enter the quarter-final without having suffered a defeat.
Nigeria endured a far more difficult beginning.
The defending champions lost 3-2 to Malawi, who were playing the first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match in their history. It was Nigeria’s first defeat against a tournament debutant and left them with no margin for error.
Their recovery began with a 1-0 victory over Zambia. Nigeria played much of the match with ten players and protected the lead given to them by Asisat Oshoala’s eighth-minute goal.
They needed to beat Egypt in their final group match and did so 6-2. The result allowed them to finish second in Group C, behind Malawi, and reach the quarter-finals after scoring nine goals and conceding five.
Cameroon arrive as unbeaten group winners. Nigeria finished second but produced the more emphatic end to the opening stage.
A direct World Cup place and a second opportunity
The winners will qualify directly for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and face Morocco in Wednesday’s semi-final.
Nigeria have appeared in all nine editions held since 1991. They are the only African team never to have missed the tournament, and victory would extend that sequence to ten consecutive World Cups.
Cameroon have appeared twice, in 2015 and 2019. They reached the round of 16 on both occasions and are seeking to return after missing the 2023 edition.
Defeat today will end one team’s WAFCON campaign, but not their hopes of reaching the World Cup.
The losers will face South Africa on Thursday 13 August. The winners of that match will secure one of Africa’s two places in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.
The direct route, however, is available only today.
Cameroon v Nigeria kick-off time and where to watch
Cameroon and Nigeria will play today, Sunday 9 August, at 18:00 local time — also 18:00 in the United Kingdom and 19:00 in mainland Spain — at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca.
The match will be available to watch for free in Spain and Latin America through CAF’s YouTube channel.
Cameroon have already beaten Nigeria this year. What they have never managed is to remove them from their path in a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations knockout tie.
After losing three finals, a semi-final and their most recent quarter-final against the same opponents, the direct route back to the World Cup depends on doing so for the first time.
