In the wake of the Super Falcons' historic victory at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), CAF have unveiled their tournament Best XI.
The selection, made by the CAF Technical Study Group, aimed to spotlight the best performing players in the 2025 edition. Unsurprisingly, given Nigeria’s success in Morocco, the 10-time African champions have the highest representation.
Four Super Falcons – Chiamaka Nnadozie, Michelle Alozie, Rasheedat Ajibade (who was named tournament MVP) and Esther Okoronkwo – were named in the WAFCON Best XI. South Africa had the next highest allocation, with three players, while hosts and beaten finalists Morocco and third place winners Ghana getting two nods apiece.
The stars who shined the brightest. ⭐
Meet your Best XI of the Tournament!#TotalEnergiesWAFCON2024 pic.twitter.com/dXWZNAzHqU
— CAF Women’s Football (@CAFwomen) July 28, 2025
3 Super Falcons unfortunate to miss out on WAFCON Best XI
While all of the Nigerian players in the Best XI deserved their places, there are a handful who can count themselves unfortunate to have missed out.
Here are three in particular who arguably should have been included.
Ashleigh Plumptre
The Ittihad defender was a surprising exclusion, as she was excellent for much of the tournament in Morocco.
The only member of the Nigeria back four to not score in the competition, she was nevertheless arguably the most consistent, and was perhaps penalised for a difficult first half in the final. Otherwise, her absence in the WAFCON Best XI is difficult to justify.
Halimatu Ayinde
The Super Falcons’ midfield anchor was another who should have made the WAFCON XI, but was likely a victim of a weak showing in the tournament’s showpiece.
A shame, as she was genuinely excellent all the way through, distributing calmly and breaking up attacks in a timely, unfussy fashion.
Tosin Demehin
All the plaudits for Nigeria’s defensive excellence seem to have gone to goalkeeper Nnadozie, and while the new Brighton signing is clearly the continent’s finest, she did not have a lot to do most of the time.
A lot of the credit for that should go to Demehin, who showed nous and maturity, at times bailing out her more experienced centre-back partner Osinachi Ohale. For an encapsulation of the Galatasaray defender’s level, see her masterful shutdown job on the feared Barbra Banda in the quarter-final hammering of Zambia.
