Nothing short of a win against Zambia on Saturday will do for Nigeria. Any other result could see them go down in infamy as the first Super Falcons team ever not to reach the semifinals of the Women's AFCON.
Their 2-3 loss to Malawi in their opening game of the 2026 edition was not only their biggest shock in the tournament's history, it also put the 10-time champions in the undesirable position of seeing their chances of qualifying for next year's FIFA Women's World Cup hanging by the thinnest of threads.
To avoid that fate, here are four things Nigeria must get right.
Super Falcons must show desire
A lot of the conversation around that loss to Malawi dwelled on personnel and tactics, but by far the biggest issue the Super Falcons had against Malawi was simply a lack of desire for large stretches of the game.
They lost tackles, lost duels, were rarely first to the ball and seldom won second balls. They mistimed the bounce of the ball on too many occasions. There were not enough attempts to get to and win the ball, especially in midfield, where the Malawians absolutely dominated Nigeria.
The players must not only talk about winning, they must show that desire on the pitch. On a player-for-player basis, the Super Falcons are a better team than Zambia and Malawi, but football has always rewarded the team that wants it more.
Going into Saturday's game, Madugu has to stress the importance of wanting the win more than Zambia, starting from the forwards to the goalkeeper. If they make it a proper contest, in the end, their quality will tell.
Dump the high line
To find a solution, Madugu has to identify the problem, and it appears he has.
"We have done the analysis of what happened in the last game and where we got it all wrong," the Nigeria coach said at Friday's pre-match press conference.
"Actually, we have to blame ourselves because we didn't do certain things right."
Chief among those was Nigeria's aggressive defensive line: "The plan we had was to play high, keep the opposition in their half, and see how we can exploit whatever opportunities that come our way.
"If we win the ball in the opposition's half, it is easier and closer for us to get to the opponent's goal and possibly hurt them.
"While we are also aware that in the event of a transition, we can also be hurt, so we must be careful with that. Things didn't just work out the way we wanted."
It worked for most of the game but ultimately ended in disaster, largely because of the pace and exceptional finishing of Temwa Chawinga.
They need to do the same again against Zambia, for all ninety minutes.
The difference this time is that they cannot afford to leave the kind of space behind them that allowed Malawi to play over the top so effectively. Against the pace of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, that would be inviting trouble.
Madugu insists the lessons have been learned: "For the Zambia game, we have also done the same thing. We've also looked at them.
"They are also watching us. They are also analyzing our own team to look at everybody's strength and weaknesses and where they can capitalize.
"We are fully aware of all that. We keep working, and we know exactly how to address whatever it is that we have analysed. We are coming up with a plan to address that."
Restore Abiodun to midfield
Deborah Abiodun did not start against Malawi, and understandably so. The Washington Spirit midfielder, along with teammate Gift Monday, ran into flight issues and arrived in camp late, leaving little time to train with the squad before the opening match.
But Abiodun's influence was obvious when she came on. Her excellent reading of the game, ability to break up play and quality in possession would provide the protection the centre backs need against Banda and Kundananji.
Malawi repeatedly played balls over the top to beat Nigeria's press. Abiodun can help stop those attacks before they develop by sitting on Zambia's midfielders and cutting off the supply to their dangerous forwards.
Even if Abiodun does not start, what Madugu needs to ensure is that his midfielders maintain their tactical and positional discipline. Most of Nigeria's problems against Malawi stemmed from a lack of discipline in the middle of the park, which allowed the southern Africans far too much freedom.
Veteran midfielder Halimatu Ayinde admitted as much during a post training media availability
"The last game it just happened that position-wise, we were not disciplined enough. That is why we suffered a lot," Ayinde said.
"We have learnt our lessons and I don't think we will let that happen again. We will try to stay together and connect together as midfielders, keep it compact and try to cover the spaces.
"It didn't work the last game. It does not mean that it won't work in the coming games," she said. "We have to stick together and cover the backline."
A big game from Nnadozie
There is no sugarcoating it. Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, usually a brick wall, made three uncharacteristically poor errors that led to Malawi's goals.
To be fair, she was also sold down the river by her teammates, with the mistakes beginning much higher up the pitch before the ball ever reached her.
The difference is that the Nnadozie everyone has come to know would probably have bailed out her defence on at least two of those occasions.
Unfortunately, she looked off her game on Tuesday, and acknowledged the errors and promise to make amends: "I came out to apologize because I just felt it was necessary to let the fans know that what happened was not intentional.
"This is football. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. But that doesn't make us a bad team, or that doesn't make me a bad player."
Rather than dwell on the defeat, Nnadozie pointed to Argentina's recovery after losing their opening match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
"Losing against Malawi doesn't make us a bad team," she said. "We've all learned from our mistakes, and moving forward, we're just focusing on the next game. That one is in the past."
She remains Africa's best goalkeeper, and if she produces the kind of performance Nigerians have become accustomed to seeing, there should be little cause for worry.