Wafcon 2024: Nigeria beat Botswana to book quarter-final spot

Nigeria scored a late winner against Botswana to become the first side to book a place in the quarter-finals at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon).

Chinwendu Ihezuo netted the only goal in Casablanca with two minutes remaining when she slid in to meet a low right-wing cross from fellow substitute Esther Okoronkwo and bundled the ball home past Botswana goalkeeper Sedilame Boseja.

Victory put Nigeria top of Group B, with their perfect record assuring them of a top-two finish, after North African rivals Tunisia and Algeria played out a 0-0 draw earlier on Thursday.

Algeria are second in the group table on four points, with Tunisia in third after securing their first point at this year’s finals.

Botswana have lost both their games and are on the brink of an early exit, having reached the quarter-finals on their debut in 2022.

The final round of group fixtures will see Nigeria face Algeria and Tunisia take on Botswana on Sunday, with both games kicking off at 19:00 GMT.

However, the situation in Group B has been complicated after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) announced it has opened an investigation into “alleged violations” of its statutes and regulations by Algeria at the finals.