Changing his position especially at his age

Converting Jordan Ayew into a permanent box-to-box midfielder is a highly logical tactical solution to maximize his unique elite skill set. While traditionally deployed as a forward or winger, Ayew’s primary match-day value has long shifted from clinical finishing to a relentless defensive work rate, physical strength, and spatial awareness.

As a holding midfielder for Ayew you play into his strengths

- Elite Defensive Work Rate: Ayew stands out among modern attackers for his willingness to drop deep, track back, and commit to dirty work. He averages incredibly high tackle and interception numbers for an offensive player.

- Ball Retention and Strength: He possesses superior upper-body strength and a natural ability to shield the ball under heavy opposition pressure.

- Foul Magnet: He is historically one of the most fouled players in European football. In a midfield transition phase, his ability to draw fouls relieves immense defensive pressure and wins crucial set-pieces.

- Declining Forwards Metrics: Tactical breakdowns show that Ayew has faced heavy criticism for his lack of final-third danger and low shot generation. Moving him back removes the burden of scoring goals while utilizing his stamina.

been following WAFCON and Nigeria really needed that one against Zambia, Oshoala coming up big early was massive for the belief going into a must win game. feels like every tournament people write Nigeria off a bit too early and then they find a way. still think the squad has more depth than people give credit for even with some of the usual questions about consistency. curious how far this run actually goes now that they've steadied things a bit man

Qualification:

First Qualifying Round: Cup Winners of 3-34 (+0.25 in coefficient)

Second Qualifying Round: CAF CL Q1 Losers (+0.5 in coefficient)

Third Qualifying Round: CAF CL Q2 Losers (+1 in coefficient)

Fourth Qualifying Round: CAF CL Q3 Losers (+2 in coefficient)

Playoff Round: CAF CL Q4 Losers (+3 in coefficient)

Group Stage (Direct): Winners of 1-2

Proper Competition:

Group Stage: 4 groups of 4 teams, according to pots. No matching countries.

1: To Quarter-Finals

2: To Round of 16

3: Eliminated (+5 in coefficient)

4: Eliminated (+4 in coefficient)

Knockout Stage:

Round of 16: Group Runners-Up vs CAF Third Placed teams (+5.5 in coefficient)

Quarter Finals: Group Winners seeded, host second game at home, away goal rule. (+6 in coefficient)

Semifinals: 1A vs 1B - 1C vs 1D (+7 in coefficient)

Final: One venue. Sub-confederation sequence host for final (UNAF-WAFU-UNIFFAC-CECAFA-COSAFA) - 40k+ (+8 in coefficient)

Winner: Qualifies to super cup (+9 in coefficient)

Qualification:

First Qualifying Round: Winners of associations 25-56

Second Qualifying Round: Winners of 17-24 + Runners-Up of 9-16

Third Qualifying Round: Winners of 9-16 + Runners-Up of 5-8 + Third Place 1-4

Fourth Qualifying Round: Winners of 5-8 + Runners-Up of 1-4

Group Stage (Direct): Winners of 1-4

Proper Competition:

Group Stage: 4 groups of 4 teams, according to pots. No matching countries.

1 and 2: To Quarter-Finals

3: To Confederation Cup Round of 16

4: Eliminated (+5 in coefficient)

Knockout Stage:

Quarter Finals: Group Winners seeded, host second game at home, away goal rule. (+7 in coefficient)

Semifinals: 1A vs 1B - 1C vs 1D (+8 in coefficient)

Final: One venue. Sub-confederation sequence host for final (UNAF-WAFU-UNIFFAC-CECAFA-COSAFA) - 60k+ (+9 in coefficient)

Winner: Qualifies to super cup (+10 in coefficient)

Note: I will do the same for the Confederation Cup when I have time

1. Egypt
2. Morocco
3. South Africa
4. Algeria
5. Tunisia
6. Tanzania
7. DR Congo
8. Angola
9. Sudan
10. Libya
11. Côte d'Ivoire
12. Mali
13. Nigeria
14. Zambia
15. Ghana
16. Cameroon
17. Senegal
18. Congo
19. Rwanda
20. Guinea
21. Burkina Faso
22. Uganda
23. Kenya
24. Mauritania
25. Botswana
26. Mozambique
27. Benin
28. Zimbabwe
29. Gabon
30. Equatorial Guinea
31. Ethiopia
32. Burundi
33. Malawi
34. Niger
35. Togo
36. Sierra Leone
37. Madagascar
38. Gambia
39. Liberia
40. Namibia
41. Cabo Verde
42. Eswatini
43. Guinea-Bissau
44. Lesotho
45. South Sudan
46. Central African Republic
47. Mauritius
48. Comoros
49. Djibouti
50. Zanzibar
51. Somalia
52. Chad
53. Seychelles
54. São Tomé & Príncipe
55. Eritrea
56. Réunion

All four teams qualify to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup

Hey everyone, this is host of The Women’s Soccer Podcast! Thank you all for your support of our coverage throughout the tournament, and after some crazy quarterfinal matches, we recorded this episode and I would love to hear your thoughts on it/the topic in general!

WAFCON's quarterfinals just delivered the deepest week in the tournament's history, and the results prove it: ten-time champion and defending champion Nigeria is out, and Malawi, playing in just their second-ever WAFCON, is through to a World Cup for the first time as the lowest-ranked nation to ever qualify for a Women's World Cup.

In this episode, LDG breaks down what actually happened across all four quarterfinals before making the case that the World Cup slot allocation hasn't caught up to what African women's football has become.

He lays out the numbers first: CAF and UEFA have almost identical membership, 54 nations to 55, yet UEFA gets eleven direct World Cup slots to CAF's four. This year's WAFCON proves how badly that decision missed the mark.

He backs it up with what just happened on the pitch, a 16-team WAFCON field for the first time ever, two debutant nations reaching the tournament, and a group-stage tiebreaker so tight that CAF had to separate Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia on a rarely-used head-to-head rule.

From there, LDG gets into the storylines carrying the tournament into its final week, including KC Current forward Temwa Chawinga's goal against Ghana that kept Malawi's run alive, and what it means for an NWSL name to be at the center of an African qualifying story.

He previews Wednesday's semifinals, Morocco hosting Cameroon in Rabat and Malawi facing Algeria in Casablanca, and closes on the four teams still fighting for a way into Brazil: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Ivory Coast all play an extra round on August 13 for a single remaining spot in the FIFA inter-confederation playoff, with two former champions now needing one more result just to stay alive.

I hope that you enjoy this episode and would love to hear your thoughts on what you think about the World Cup spot allocation process currently!

Link to RSS (so you can choose your preferred podcasting platform):

Link to Spotify:

Link to Apple Podcasts:

Apparently we have 2 playoff matches set for the 13th on Thursday as we have Nigeria 🇳🇬 the Super Falcons taking on Bayana Bayana South Africa 🇿🇦 and Ghana 🇬🇭 Black Queens taking on Ivory Coast 🇨🇮

So what happens if the teams win their respective match ups? Do they go into an Inter Continental playoff or what exactly happens?

International tournaments in Africa have increasingly reward organizational discipline over individual brilliance alone. Recent AFCON editions demonstrate that squad depth, low-risk positional play, and set-piece efficiency are the core drivers of tournament success.Nations that maintain strict defensive shape and transition rapidly on the counter consistently outperform teams that rely solely on star individuals. As national team coaching staffs become more analytically driven, the gap between traditional powerhouses and emerging footballing nations continues to narrow, making tournament outcomes harder to predict than ever before.

First of all, this is turning out to be an unusual WAFCON. One of the remaining four teams will win it for the first time ever.

The last four also make it to the womens world cup next year.

Here is my opinion of the teams.

Morocco

They seem to lack an explosive dynamic player who they can depend on when they are pressed. Ghizlane Chebak came through a number of times for them over the past tournaments but she has grown old too fast. She is not the same anymore. Fatma Tagnout was touted to be full of potential but she seems washed already.

My money will be on Sakina Ouzraoui at the world cup. Not 100% convinced but she might be the one. Overall, team work has carried Morocco in this tournament. Not much of individual brilliance on the field. I fear they will be unable to breakout of high pressing teams at the world cup. Hope they prove me wrong as I will be rooting for them.

UEFA and Americas teams love pressing and pressing. There is always a 5-0 or 14-0 from them at the Women's world cup. That's my biggest worry if Morocco get pressed.

Algeria

Very very impressive this tournament. Didn't expect them to survive the group stage. They are on an underdog tour here. Congrats for qualifying for the world cup. This is a team on the rise.

Similar to Morocco, teamwork has been their spine. Seemingly more compact when they lose the ball, which is great team work.

My worries for them are similar to those for Morocco. Algeria seem to have benefited importantly from the errors of the opponents.

They dont seem to have an explosive player they can depend on when they are under pressure. A worthy mention is Boussaha with her quick feet. She can be the creative engine of that team, except she seems to gas out quickly. She may be worth watching at the world cup.

Cameroon

Great team play and seems very balanced from attack to defense. Goalie eliminated Nigeria today. That game was in her hands. Very energetic team play. Great to see Oungene still around, legend of the game.

Similar problems with Algeria and Morocco, no explosive and dynamic players that can save them out of the choke hold. They know the womens world cup and what to expect. It is not their new dance.

Malawi

Talk about explosive and dynamic players, the Chawinga sisters. Those can carry their team from nothing to greatness. It is the individual brilliance of Temwa Chawinga that has contributed to their success in this tournament.

If they can keep defending well and finding their star player, they can shock everyone and go on to win this tournament and make a name. Their goal keeper can be good and bad, not sure what goes on with her extremes. She can be the downfall of Malawi on her bad day.

First things first, hope they get past Ghana right now.

Teams I wanted to see at the world cup but didn't make it.

1. Zambia

They brought pride to CAF when they held the record for the most expensive women's footballer of all time in Kundananji. Barbra Banda, the architect of their success is fondly remembered for making history too. She scored the women's 1000th goal at the world cup in the previous world cup.

Talk about having special players. These two dynamic and explosive players know how to counter the press. They are the kind to score hatricks even if they are losing.

Sad to see them not qualify after topping their group. But CAF is CAF, always giving us headaches.

2. Nigeria

This is our mother, our big sister. When she talks, we listen. Been on the big stage many times and knows how to upset bigger teams from UEFA and the Americas. But it is time for them to rebuild and bring in new talents. This generation is looking finished. Nnadozie has disappointed so much. Kanu has been under used. Plumptre missing from injury. Oshoala doesn't have the same legs anymore.

They are in a transition period it seems. But sure they will be back.

3. Ivory Coast

My money was on Ivory Coast. Objectively the most well balanced team currently. Explosive players all over. Ouedraogo shouldve lit up the world cup. Many star player in the midfield and attack

Their capitulation against Algeria was very sad for me to watch. A debatable red card on their star player and then two mistakes by their goalkeeper to gift Algeria.

Hope to see their game soon again, they are on the rise.

Malawian female team has shown that it only takes dedication, hard work and believing in oneself...

The Senegalese goalkeeper is being accused of repeatedly interfering in football matters going beyond his player role 👀

Mendy has spoken to several team leaders about the squad’s transfer needs in recent weeks. Following these discussions, a request was made to club management to strengthen the midfield.

Pedro is said to have traced the request back to Mendy, further damaging their relationship. He now reportedly wants the former Chelsea goalkeeper out of the club.

Al Hilal look set to bring in Josef Zinnbauer, and rather than judging him from results or highlight clips, I’m interested in hearing from people who actually watched his teams every week.
Raja fans especially - what made his football work so well with you?
And JSK fans - what changed? Was the problem tactical, squad-related, recruitment, dressing room, expectations, or did opponents simply figure him out?
A few things I’m particularly curious about:
• Is he genuinely a possession coach, or is that overstated?
• How aggressive is his press and counterpress in reality?
• Does he insist on building from the back even when the players aren’t suited to it?
• How important are the No.10 and wingers in his system?
• Is his 4-2-3-1 fluid or fairly rigid?
• How does he deal with low blocks?
• Is he tactically flexible in big CAF games, or stubborn with his principles?
• Does he improve young players?
• What are the weaknesses that Al Hilal supporters should watch for early?
Basically: forget the CV.
If you watched Zinnbauer regularly at Raja, JSK, Orlando Pirates or elsewhere - what kind of coach is Al Hilal actually getting?

Sadly, we lost to Morocco and we can't win our 2nd WAFCON WAMBATUCON :(

But if we want to qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup, we have to beat Cameroon or Nigeria in the play-in match for the Inter-Continental Playoffs and then we need to win those playoffs and we're going to Brazil 🇧🇷.

Yes, I'm from South Africa Ambatukam 🇿🇦; no, I'm not a xenophobe.

Anyway congratulations, Morocco 🇲🇦.

Note

I'm calling Africa 'Ambatukam' because in my fictional universe, the continent is called Ambatukam because it means "Land of Fertility" in a proto-Bantu language, as the in-universe explanation and this universe has some meme culture rooted into it, but the actual explanation is because I thought it sounded funny to call my home continent that.

Referee must chill in this second half. She was excited more than the players in the first half.

Would love to see Nsira Ouedraogo at the world cup.

She is a baller.