Let's be honest, Nigeria's 3-2 comeback victory over Morocco in Saturday's Women's Africa Cup of Nations was a remarkable resurrection act by the Super Falcons after being 2-0 down, but if they'd lost they've had themselves (or the coach?) to blame.
A stunning Esther Okoronkwo-inspired second-half display was enough to complete Mission X -- securing a record-extending 10th title -- but despite victory, there must still be doubts about whether interim coach Justin Madugu is the right man to get the best out of this talented squad, with another WAFCON and World Cup to come over the next two years.
The head coach had faced criticism ahead of the tournament for his squad selection, with the omission of Monday Gift -- in particular -- drawing raised eyebrows given her recent club form for Washington Spirit in the NWSL.
During the group stage, the Falcons struggled to break down defensive sides, only narrowly seeing off Botswana 1-0 before being held 0-0 by Algeria, although Madugu effectively began to change public perception with the thunderous 5-0 demolition of Zambia in the quarterfinal and the semifinal against South Africa.
During the knockouts, the coach made some bold calls which ultimately paid off, notably his smart utilisation of Jennifer Echengini, as well as his brave call to put faith in Folashade Ijamilusi, who responded with goals against the Copper Queens and Morocco in the final.
It must be acknowledged that he managed to engineer two famous victories, even if the 2-1 triumph against Banyana Banyana could have been a different story had it not been for Gabriela Salgado's late horror injury, which clearly left the reigning champions shellshocked before Michelle Alozie struck a speculative winner from range.
Against Morocco, timidity appeared to overtake the head coach with his team selection, as he reversed his previous decision to drop the underperforming Deborah Abiodun, instead restoring the Dallas Trinity midfielder to the starting XI and pairing her with similarly defensive-minded Halimatu Ayinde.
It was a decision that cost the Falcons the initiative during the first-half.
With Abiodun and Ayinde far two one-dimensional, the likes of Yasmin Mrabet, Najat Badri and Ghizlane Chebbak began to impose themselves on the contest, with Morocco able to take the game to the Falcons as a result.
Echegini, who had so impressed with her mobility, dribbling and intelligent off-the-ball movement during the previous fixtures had suffered a torso injury in the semi, but confirmed to ESPN that she had been fully recovered ahead of the final.
"I think it was a tactical decision," she confided to ESPN after the match, "whatever was best for the team."
If the decision to start Abiodun and Ayinde was taken with a view to giving Nigeria's backline more protection against a fearsome Moroccan attacking threat, it didn't pay off, with the Super Falcons looking more vulnerable than ever before at this tournament during those frantic first 25 minutes.
Particularly exposed were fullbacks Alozie and Ashleigh Plumptre, up against Sanaa Mssoudy and Sakira Ouzraoui respectively, with the Falcons duo largely undone by their nimble, inventive opponents during the early going.
"I struggled in that sense, and I think I got into my head a bit, questioning whether I should step up to her or whether I should allow her to come to me," Plumptre shared with ESPN after the match.
"We gave them too much respect, I know I did. Rather than just playing, I was questioning."
Again, Madugu appeared to have misread the situation, with Chinwendu Ihezuo and Rasheedat Ajibade both failing to offer support for their respective fullbacks as Morocco sought a weakness and attempted to capitalise.
It appeared as though they'd done just that, with Ouzraoui getting the better of Plumptre, leaving the Al-Ittihad defender floored, in the build-up to the first goal, with a glaring Ayide error gifting Chebbak -- unmarked -- the opening goal.
For the second, just over 10 minutes later, it was a similar story, as another dangerous ball game in from the left, Osinachi Ohale's nervy clearance only went as far as Massoudy, again wide open, and she duly obliged with the Lionesses' second.
Why had the wide players not been instructed to offer their fullbacks more effective coverage at this point? Why was a defensive-minded selection appearing to leave the Falcons so vulnerable, with the Lionesses repeatedly having a player over.
From this point, Nigeria went into a huddle, and things began to tighten up. Noticeably, there was more coverage offered by the wide players, although it was only truly when the more mobile Rinsola Babajide was introduced on 58 minutes that the Falcons effectively closed off the threat that Morocco offered out wide.
Indeed, it could have easily been three, with Ouzraoui breaking down the left-hand channel late in the first half, bearing down on Chiamaka Nnadozie's goal, and opting to shoot herself rather than picking out Ibtissam Jraïdi, ultimately sending her shot wide.
Had the winger's decision-making been better that this crucial moment, or of course, had VAR not intervened to overrule a late Morocco penalty decision late in the game, Mudugu's tactical approach in this contest would have been placed firmly in the spotlight.
Instead, Nigeria regrouped, Morocco tired, lost their impetus, and the outstanding Okoronkwo stepped to the fore.
"The performance in the first half was good," Morocco head coach Jorge Vilda told ESPN, "but afterwards there was clear physical fatigue, the matches we had played before were difficult and we needed to perform to win.
"Here, there was a total physical collapse. Our goals were scored collectively, but the conceded goals were based on individual errors."
Madugu deserves credit for turning to Echengini to replace Ayinde just before the hour mark, arguably correcting the mistake he'd made in his pre-match selection, with the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder's athleticism and mazy running clearly striking fear into Moroccan hearts.
"Sometimes you plan for a game and come up with a strategy, each time you must have a Plan A, Plan B and possibly a Plan C," Madugu acknowledged after the game. "If it works out well for you, you continue, if [not], you have to change.
"We had a gameplay, and what we said we would avoid, but we committed the same mistakes, were chasing the game and we had to fall back to Plan B to get back into the game.
"If we're chasing, we have [a plan] for what we're going to do, the players are aware of it, and we have plans for all of those situations."
When Madugu's Plan B looks like in-form Echegini and the irrepressible Okoronkwo, then, against a fading Morocco, the Super Falcons were able to mount a startling comeback to clinch La Decima.
However, against the world's finest sides, in the challenges to come for this talented side over the next two years, has the 61-year-old truly got the nous to ensure this multi-talented selection receive the rewards that could be theirs?