Malawi’s fairytale run at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 continued on Wednesday as the Scorchers battered Algeria 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium (Stade Olympique) in Rabat to secure a historic place in the final.
The Chawinga sisters once again proved decisive, with Tabitha and Temwa combining for all three goals to send Malawi into their first-ever TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON final.
Algeria’s task became significantly more difficult early in the first half when Morgane Belkhiter was shown a red card, reducing the North Africans to 10 players.
Despite Algeria’s resilience, Malawi eventually found the breakthrough in the 33rd minute through Tabitha Chawinga. The captain produced a moment of brilliance, improvising superbly to direct an acrobatic effort onto the crossbar and into the net for the opening goal.
The Scorchers doubled their advantage moments before the break. Temwa Chawinga showed composure inside the area, rounding the goalkeeper after being played through before calmly slotting the ball into an empty net to give Malawi a commanding 2-0 lead at half-time.
Malawi resumed the second half on the front foot and nearly added a third in the 51st minute. Temwa Chawinga burst past three defenders with her trademark pace but was unable to keep her effort on target.
Algeria responded in the 60th minute to reduce the deficit. A dangerous free-kick from Marine Dafeur caused problems in the Malawi penalty area before Ikram Adjabi reacted quickest to a loose ball and volleyed home to make it 2-1.
With Algeria pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Malawi struck a decisive blow through Tabitha Chawinga. The forward beat her marker before driving a left-footed effort into the net to complete her brace and restore her side’s two-goal cushion.
Algeria continued to battle and almost found a way back into the contest in the 87th minute when substitute Laura Muller rounded the goalkeeper. However, a delayed finish allowed recovering defenders to get back and prevent what looked like a certain goal.
Both sides continued to exchange attacks in the closing stages, but disciplined defending ensured no further goals were added.
The final whistle confirmed a 3-1 victory for Malawi, who continue their fairytale run on debut and will now compete for the continental crown in their first-ever TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
