Malawi stunned Algeria 3-1 at Rabat’s Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, reaching the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final for the first time in their history.
The victory completes an extraordinary campaign for the Scorchers. They had already become the first WAFCON newcomers since 2000 to advance to the semi-finals, and have now gone further by earning a place in Saturday’s final. Algeria had reached the last four for the first time, relying on a disciplined defence that had allowed only two goals across their opening five games before this defeat.
Both teams had secured automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil after making the semi-finals. As a result, Wednesday’s contest was about continental honours rather than an additional World Cup reward.
Malawi entered the Rabat clash as the tournament’s leading attacking force, having found the net nine times across the group stage and knockout phase. Captain Temwa Chawinga has been a key figure in that impressive campaign. Algeria, meanwhile, had made progress through a well-organised defensive approach, defeating Senegal and Kenya before recovering to overcome Côte d’Ivoire in the quarter-finals.
Malawi will now meet Cameroon in the final, with both nations seeking to become only the fourth different country to win the WAFCON title since 1998.
