Malawi have reached the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 for the first time in their history after defeating Algeria 3-1 in a dramatic semi-final encounter on Wednesday.
The Scorchers continued their outstanding debut campaign with another impressive performance, inspired by sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga, who scored all three of Malawi’s goals.
Algeria’s hopes suffered an early setback when Morgane Belkhiter was sent off, leaving the North Africans to play much of the contest with 10 players.
Malawi took advantage of their numerical superiority in the 33rd minute when captain Tabitha Chawinga produced a spectacular finish.
She connected with an acrobatic effort that struck the crossbar before finding its way into the net to give the Scorchers the lead.
Temwa then doubled Malawi’s advantage shortly before half-time.
The forward raced into the penalty area after being released behind the defence, rounded the goalkeeper and calmly finished into an unguarded net to make it 2-0.
Malawi started the second half with the same attacking intent and came close to extending their lead in the 51st minute.
Temwa used her pace to escape several defenders but could not direct her shot on target.
Algeria refused to surrender and pulled a goal back in the 60th minute. Marine Dafeur’s dangerous free-kick created confusion inside the Malawi box, allowing Ikram Adjabi to react quickly and fire a volley past the goalkeeper.
The goal gave Algeria renewed belief as they pushed for an equaliser, but Malawi responded with another decisive attack.
Tabitha Chawinga beat her marker before unleashing a powerful left-footed strike into the net, completing her brace and restoring Malawi’s two-goal advantage.
Algeria came close to reducing the deficit again in the 87th minute when substitute Laura Muller rounded the Malawi goalkeeper.
However, her hesitation gave the recovering defenders enough time to intervene and clear the danger.
The Scorchers remained composed during the closing stages, defending their advantage effectively despite Algeria’s continued pressure.
When the final whistle sounded, Malawi celebrated a memorable 3-1 victory and a place in their first-ever WAFCON final.
The result marks a remarkable achievement for the Scorchers, who are competing at the tournament for the first time and have now moved within one victory of claiming their maiden continental title.
