Zambia Exit WAFCON Despite Beating Malawi
Zambia’s Copper Queens bowed out of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 despite securing a 2-1 victory over Malawi in their final Group C match on Wednesday evening.
Barbra Banda gave Zambia a dream start, firing home from distance inside the opening minute to score her fifth goal of the tournament.
The Copper Queens continued to dominate and doubled their advantage eight minutes before halftime when Margaret Belemu’s cutback found Prisca Chilufya, who calmly finished to make it 2-0.
Malawi responded strongly after the break, knowing a goal could be crucial to their qualification hopes. Tabitha Chawinga reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute after beating two defenders before finding the bottom corner.
Zambia pushed for a third and came close late on, with Kabange Mupopo seeing her close-range effort strike the woodwork with the goalkeeper beaten.
Despite Zambia’s victory, Malawi advanced to the quarter-finals after finishing top of Group C, with their qualification decided by goals scored in head-to-head matches. Defending champions Nigeria also progressed after defeating Egypt 4-2.
The result brings Zambia’s WAFCON 2026 campaign to an unfortunate end, while Malawi move on to the knockout stages.
