Malawi Qualify for 2027 World Cup After Reaching First WAFCON Final

Chawinga sisters fire Malawi into historic WAFCON final

Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga score as Malawi make WAFCON history.

Malawi beat Algeria 3-1 to reach first-ever WAFCON final...

Tabitha Chawinga netted a brace and her sister Temwa Chawinga added another as underdogs Malawi stunned Algeria 3-1 in Rabat on Wednesday, booking a spot in their first-ever Women's Africa Cup of Nations final.

Ranked 153rd in the world, Malawi have continued their fairytale run. They sit 116 places below pre-tournament favourites Nigeria, the record 10-time champions who were knocked out in the quarter-finals.

Tournament debutants Malawi capitalized on Algeria’s Morgane Belkhiter receiving a red card for a last-man foul in the middle of the first half, and took a 2-0 lead into the break.

Captain Tabitha Chawinga opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with an overhead kick from a corner, and Temwa Chawinga made it 2-0 by rounding goalkeeper Chloe N'Gazi in the first minute of added time.

Despite leading 2-0, Malawi were also down to 10 players when Rose Kadzere was shown red for a studs-up challenge just before half-time.

Algeria got one back in the 60th minute through Ikram Adjabi, but Tabitha Chawinga answered in the 76th minute with a solo effort to put Malawi back up by two.

Temwa Chawinga, who plays for Kansas City, now has five goals in the tournament, while her sister Tabitha of Lyon has four.

After Malawi’s third, Algeria had no response left. They will now play in the third-place match on Saturday.

▪️Most goals at WAFCON 2026 (12)
▪️Qualified for their first World Cup
▪️Reached their first ever WAFCON final

A reminder that this is Malawi's debut WAFCON 🤯 pic.twitter.com/oKs6ueCdMD

— ESPN Africa (@ESPNAfrica) August 12, 2026

Malawi will play either Morocco or Cameroon in Sunday’s final. The two sides meet in the second semi-final later on Wednesday, with a record $2 million winner’s prize up for grabs.

By making it to the semi-finals, Malawi, Algeria, Morocco and Cameroon have all booked their places at the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.