Super Falcons forward Rinsola Babajide was delighted to claim the Player of the Match award after making her first start of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and contributing two assists in Nigeria’s 6-2 win over Egypt on Wednesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Babajide’s first start of the tournament proved a productive one as she repeatedly stretched Egypt’s defence and created opportunities for her teammates.
Egypt were already destined for elimination before kick-off, while Nigeria needed a victory to move to six points and remain in contention for qualification, depending on the outcome of the other Group B game between Malawi and Zambia.
Babajide made her presence felt from the opening whistle, with her pace and movement causing problems for the Egyptians.
Her first goal contribution came in first-half stoppage time when she delivered a perfectly weighted pass for Gift Monday, who also replaced Asisat Oshoala in the first half and calmly finished to give Nigeria a 2-0 lead in the 44th minute.
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Egypt reduced the deficit before the break, but Babajide responded shortly after the restart. In the 57th minute, she created another opening, setting up another substitute Uchenna Kanu to restore Nigeria’s two-goal advantage at 3-1.
“I got two assists, but I am very happy about the progress. We knew what was at stake and we managed to pull through,” Babajide told Ademola Victor TV after the game.
On receiving the Player of the Match award, she added, “I’ll probably keep the MOTM trophy somewhere in my house for my family.”
The Roma forward will hope to get more involvement as Nigeria advance to the quarter-final, where they will face rivals Cameroon on Sunday.
Nigeria will hope to advance to the semi-finals for a ticket to the 2027 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil before plotting a record-extending 11th WAFCON title win.
Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years
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Source: The Punch
