There was enough blame to go round, with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie at fault for at least two of the three goals conceded.
Speaking at his post-match interview after the game, Madugu insisted that Nnadozie was a fantastic keeper who simply had a bad day.
”Chiamaka has been, I mean, a very good player. Everybody knows her exploits, both in the national team and at her club side. And like I said, you can always have good days, and you can always have bad days.
“Today we will consider it to be one of the bad days — not only for Chiamaka, but for all of us collectively as a team,” Madugu said in a post-game interview.
”She has been very outstanding. She has been very outstanding in all the games we have always played. That it happened the way it happened today is one of those things.”
The 10-time African champions now head into their second Group C fixture against Zambia knowing that anything less than victory could leave them on the brink of a humiliating early exit, and potentially cost them a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.