How Chawinga sisters led Malawi to first-ever WAFCON final
Malawi earned an impressive 3-1 win over Algeria in the semi-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Wednesday to qualify for the final of the tournament.
The Scorchers qualified for their first-ever final in their first appearance at the tournament adding it to the historic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Chawinga sisters further established their importance to the team with another stunning showing to live up to the pre-tournament expectations. They combined for all the three goals for Malawi in the encounter.
It was a very intense encounter as both teams ended the game with a player down.
Algeria’s Morgane Belkhiter was sent off for denying Tabitha Chawinga a goalscoring opportunity before Malawi took the lead in the 33rd minute through Tabitha Chawinga.
Temwa Chawinga showed composure inside the area, rounding the goalkeeper after being played through before calmly slotting into an empty net to give Malawi a commanding 2-0 lead at half-time.
Ikram Adjabi reduced the deficit for Algeria in the 60th minute to make it 2-1.
Read Also: Malawi stun Nigeria in first-ever WAFCON match
Tabitha Chawinga put the icing on the cake with the third goal to complete her brace as the Malawians held on to seal a stunning victory to continue their fairytale run in the tournament.
The Chawinga sisters have scoffed eight Malawi’s 12 goals in the tournament with Temwa bagging five and Tabitha chipping in three.
The victory made Malawi the seventh different nation to reach the final since the competition adopted its current format in 1998.
Malawi’s Route to WAFCON 2026 Final
Malawi booked their place in the 2026 WAFCON after a 2-0 aggregate win over Angola for their first appearance in the tournament.
The Scorchers began the tournament with a historic 3-2 win over defending champions Nigeria to announce their entrance into the tournament in style.
Up next was a 3-1 win over Egypt before a 1-0 loss to Zambia in their last Group C match, but they advanced to the quarter-finals as the group winners on head-to-head.
In the quarter-finals, Malawi earned a 2-1 win over Ghana to qualify for the last four of the tournament and also book a place in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil automatically.
The Scorchers will be hoping to complete their fairytale run in the final as they await the winner between Cameroon and Morocco in the second semi-final later on Wednesday.
The team became only the second national team from the country, across senior and youth men’s and women’s football, to qualify for a FIFA World Cup tournament.
The Malawi men’s Under-17 side competed at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009.
