The silver medalists
* At the end of second round, 16 teams will qualify to the next round to compete for Round 4
* The final four teams will compete to determine the two nations that will represent Africa at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles
By Duncan Mlanjira
After the historic qualification to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON) Morocco 2026 where they achieved a further milestone of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2027 and reaching the final, Malawi Scorchers next face Zimbabwe in the second round of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 qualifiers to be played in October.
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The Scorchers can atone themselves for letting the WAfCON slip off their hands after losing 0-3 to Cameroon on Sunday, earning the silver medal — an achievement that has Malawians proud of the team against all odds after been labeled as complete outsiders.
The first round of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 involved six lowest-ranked teams according to the latest official FIFA Women’s world rankings — Sudan v Comoros, Mauritius v Djibouti Djibouti and South Sudan, v Madagascar.
There are 32 teams in the second round from which 16 teams will qualify to the third round to compete from eight teams will go to round four.
The final four nations will compete in the last round to determine two teams to represent Africa in Los Angeles for the Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Comoros have created an aura for themselves after beating Sudan 30-0 on aggregate — 17-0 away and 13-0 at home and they will meet Nigeria in the second round.
Nigeria are wounded falcons having failed to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 — who were beaten 3-2 by Malawi in group stages of the WAfCON Morocco 2025.
This was a result that spurred the Scorchers to continue their fairytale run at their debut appearance, beating Egypt 3-1, losing 1-2 to Zambia but topped their group.
They went on to beat Ghana 2-1 in the quarterfinals to qualify for the semifinals and a place at the World Cup before ousting Algeria 3-1 in the semis.
But for the final, at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, which attracted global attention following the Scorchers’ impressive performance in their debut, they were completely outclassed against a resolute Cameroon, who were strong in all departments.
Marie Ngah scored twice, either side of Naomi Ndjoah Eto’s goal, as the Indomitable Lionesses produced a devastating first-half display to finally end their long wait for continental glory.
Ngah opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Ndjoah Eto doubled the advantage 10 minutes later after being set up by Myriam Nyadjou.
Ngah then struck again three minutes into first-half stoppage time, this time from an assist by Ndjoah Eto, to effectively settle the contest before the interval.
After an energetic opening spell, Ngah made the breakthrough in the 20th minute to put the Indomitable Lionesses ahead and immediately change the complexion of the final.
Malawi, whose attacking strength had been one of the major features of the tournament, were suddenly forced to chase the game against a Cameroon side that had built its campaign on defensive discipline and efficiency.
Ten minutes later, the task became significantly more difficult as Nyadjou provided the opening for Ndjoah Eto, who made it 2-0 in the 30th minute as Cameroon tightened their grip on the trophy.
Malawi tried to find a response and made a change shortly before half-time, with Tiasha Sani introduced for Chikondi Gondwe in the 43rd minute.
But the Indomitable Lionesses were not finished. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Cameroon produced another decisive attacking move when Ndjoah Eto — having already scored the second goal — turned provider for Ngah, who struck in the 45+3 minute to complete her brace and send Cameroon into the interval with a commanding 3-0 advantage.
The third goal left Malawi needing an extraordinary second-half comeback.
The Scorchers had arrived in the final as the tournament’s leading scorers with 12 goals and with sisters Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga having played leading roles in their historic campaign.
But Cameroon’s defence, which had conceded only twice before the final, once again proved difficult to break down.
Malawi made further changes after the interval in an attempt to revive the contest, but the Indomitable Lionesses controlled the game with the security of their three-goal cushion.
Cameroon coach Valentine Nguele was also able to manage the closing stages with substitutions, while the defence remained disciplined enough to prevent Malawi from finding even a consolation goal.
While result brought disappointment for Malawi, their run to the final remains historic becoming the first southern African debutants to reach the final and produced one of the tournament’s most entertaining campaigns.
They entered the decider with the best attacking record in the competition. However, Cameroon’s experience, defensive organisation and clinical finishing proved too much in Rabat.
Five goals were enough to put Temwa Chawinga, Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Cameroon’s Marie Ngah Manga level at the top of the scoring charts but Temwa finished the tournament with something the other two did not – two assists to go with her five goals.
She thus won the Golden Boot following a seven direct goal involvements. It was standout individual campaign for Chawinga, who scored twice in the Scorchers’ opening 3-2 victory over Nigeria before adding goals against Egypt, Ghana and Algeria.
Her ability to both score and create made her one of the most influential attacking players in Morocco.—Match report by CAFonline
Group stage results, standings and knockout stage results:
Group A
Algeria 2-0 Senegal
Morocco 4-0 Kenya
Senegal 1-0 Kenya
Morocco 1-0 Algeria
Senegal 0-0 Morocco
Kenya 0-2 Algeria
Group B
South Africa 1-2 Tanzania
Côte d’Ivoire 4-1 Burkina Faso
South Africa 2-2 Côte d’Ivoire
Burkina Faso 2-1 Tanzania
Burkina Faso 0-1 South Africa
Tanzania 1-2 Côte d’Ivoire
Group C
Zambia 6-0 Egypt
Nigeria 3-2 Malawi
Egypt 1-3 Malawi
Nigeria 1-0 Zambia
Egypt 2-6 Nigeria
Malawi 1-2 Zambia
Group D
Ghana 2-0 Cape Verde
Cameroon 2-1 Mali
Ghana 0-1 Cameroon
Mali 3-2 Cape Verde
Mali 1-1 Ghana
Cape Verde 1-1 Cameroon
Quarterfinals
Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Algeria
Morocco 2-1 South Africa
Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria
Malawi 2-1 Ghana
Semifinals
Algeria 1-3 Malawi
Morocco 0(1) – 0(3) Cameroon
World Cup 2027 play-off matches
South Africa 2-1 Nigeria
Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Ghana
Third place play-off
Algeria 1 (3) 1 (2) Morocco
WAfCON 2026 final
Malawi 0-3 Cameroon
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