By Amaechi Agbo

Nigeria Super Falcons have qualified for the 12th edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON after defeating hard fighting Lady Elephants of Ivory Coast 1-0 in Abidjan on Wednesday, www.bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

Going into the match with a 2-0 first leg advantage, the Randy Waldrum’s ladies knew that they needed to preserve their advantage while seeking for victory against a side who thrashed Niger Republic ladies 20-0 aggregate to reach the final round.

Esther Okonkwo scored the all-important lone goal that gave the nine-time champions their passage into the tournament which holds in Morocco in July.

Super Falcons goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie was the heroine of the encounter as she saved a penalty in the 33rd minute to give the Falcons more composure.

The Ivoriens after the break, threw in all their arsenal in search of goals but their hope was dashed when Esther Okonkwo scored in the 87th minute to the shock of the home fans.

It was a match that had all the negatives with the Ivory Coast football association reportedly denying their Nigeria counterpart, Nigeria Football Federation, access to the live coverage of the match.

The NFFTV which transmitted live coverages of the first leg in Abuja on Friday showed recorded images during the encounter.

Nigeria booked their place into the 12th edition of the WAFCON on a 3-0 aggregate win over the Ivoriens.

This home-and-away victories over the Lady Elephants could assuage the heartache they caused Nigerians in October 2019 when the stopped the Super Falcon’s from qualifying for the 2020 Olympic football event in Lagos.

The 2022 WAFCON will hold in Morocco from July 2nd to 23rd.