WAFCON 2026: Fairytale runs continue as Malawi, Cameroon battle in Cup final

WAFCON 2026: Fairytale runs continue as Malawi, Cameroon battle in Cup final

By Akeem Busari 

The books have been torn, pundits now look like amateurs of the game and aficionados cannot stop waxing lyrical about the 2026 WAFCON ongoing in Morocco. 

From the opening match of the championship, it has been surprises and shocking results, with torrential goals rain, breaking several records through to the knockout stages through to the grand finale slated for Sunday, August 16, 2026.

In the semi-finals, first-timers to WAFCON, Malawi continued its cinderellas run smashing Algeria 3-1 with the goals coming off the boots of the Chawinga sisters, to reach the final.

Michaly Bihina continued from her impressive performance against Nigeria in the quater-finals, as she once again emerged the heroine for Cameroon, saving a penalty in regulation time and three more during the shootouts to give Cameroon a ticket to the final of the championship. 

All four semi-finalists;  Malawi, Cameroon, Morocco and Algeria, have also qualified for next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil. For Malawi and Algeria, it will be their first appearance at the World Cup tournament.

For Morocco, it be its second World Cup appearance after reaching the last 16 in 2023, while Cameroon have previously featured in the 2015 and 2019 editions.

From 30 games played so far, in this WAFCON, a total of 85 goals have been scored, representing an average of 2.83 per match. 

Meanwhile the top scorers are Temwa Chawinga of Malawi and Barbara Banda of Zambia with 5 goals each.