Malawi’s remarkable debut at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 reached a historic milestone on Wednesday as the Scorchers defeated Algeria 3-1 to book their place in the final.
The Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, once again proved decisive, combining for all three of Malawi’s goals as the Scorchers secured their first-ever WAFCON final appearance.
Malawi’s task was made easier early in the first half when Algeria’s Morgane Belkhiter was shown a red card, leaving the North Africans with 10 players.
The Scorchers took advantage in the 33rd minute when captain Tabitha Chawinga produced a moment of brilliance, directing an acrobatic effort onto the crossbar and into the net to give Malawi the lead.
Temwa doubled the advantage shortly before half-time, showing composure inside the area to round the goalkeeper after being played through before calmly slotting the ball into an empty net.
Malawi went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
The Scorchers continued to threaten after the restart, with Temwa coming close to adding a third in the 51st minute after bursting past three defenders with her trademark pace, although she could not keep her effort on target.
Algeria responded in the 60th minute to give themselves renewed hope.
A dangerous free-kick from Marine Dafeur caused problems in the Malawi penalty area, with Ikram Adjabi reacting quickest to a loose ball and volleying home to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
But Malawi restored their two-goal advantage through Tabitha.
The captain beat her marker before driving a left-footed effort into the net to complete her brace and put the Scorchers 3-1 ahead.
Algeria pushed for another comeback and came close in the 87th minute when substitute Laura Muller rounded the goalkeeper.
However, a delayed finish allowed Malawi’s recovering defenders to intervene and prevent what appeared to be a certain goal.
Malawi held firm through the closing stages to secure a 3-1 victory and continue their remarkable run on their WAFCON debut.
The Scorchers will now compete for the continental crown in their first-ever TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
