Former Liverpool forward Rinsola Babajide has taken to social media to share her thoughts following the Super Falcons' failure to qualify for the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup.
After their quarterfinal exit from the ongoing Women's Africa Cup of Nations, the record African champions still had another opportunity to reach next year's tournament in Brazil through the inter-confederation play-offs.
However, Nigeria's World Cup hopes were effectively ended on Thursday night following a 2-1 defeat to South Africa's Banyana Banyana at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca.
Babajide had limited playing time at the Wafcon, making two starts against Egypt and Cameroon while logging 124 minutes.
The 28-year-old made a telling contribution in the Super Falcons' 6-2 win over Egypt, providing two assists and earning the Player of the Match award.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup, Babajide insisted that the Super Falcons would bounce back and urged the team to use the setback as motivation going forward.
"Heartbroken to say the least. It really hurts to miss out on a World Cup spot but grateful for the opportunity to represent my country at yet another WAFCON, unfortunately it didn’t go the way we’d of liked it to have gone," Babajjide wrote on X.
"We might be down right now but we’ll definitely bounce back, the only way we know how to, the Naija way!
"Time to reset, reflect & work ahead towards the Olympic qualifiers. Thank you to everyone who supported us both in the stands and from home through it all. The journey has been real."
A former England youth international before switching her allegiance to Nigeria, Babajide was a member of the Super Falcons squad that won the 2024 Wafcon.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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