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Match preview: Malawi, Algeria set for historic WAFCON 2026 semi-final
12th August, 2026 04:54 PM
Malawi and Algeria will battle for a place in the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 when they meet at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat on Wednesday evening, August 12, 2026.
Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm local time (5:00 pm GMT), with both nations chasing a historic first appearance in the tournament final.
Neither Malawi nor Algeria has previously won the WAFCON, meaning victory would take either side within one match of claiming a maiden continental title. The winner would also become the seventh different nation to reach a WAFCON final since the competition adopted its current format in 1998.
Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Morocco are the six nations to have previously reached the final during that period.
Malawi making history
Malawi have been one of the surprise teams of the tournament, reaching the semi-finals during their first-ever WAFCON appearance.
The breakthrough continued with their 2-1 comeback win over Ghana in the quarter-finals, a result that also secured the nation’s first qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
They are the first WAFCON debutants since Zimbabwe in 2000 to advance to the last four. Malawi are also only the third debutant since 1998 to progress beyond the group stage, following Zimbabwe and Botswana.
A victory over Algeria would make Malawi the first debutant, excluding the inaugural 1998 tournament, to reach the WAFCON final.
The Flames have also been prolific in front of goal, scoring nine times in their four matches. However, they have conceded six goals and remain the only semi-finalist yet to register a clean sheet.
Their campaign has included a 3-2 victory over Nigeria, a 3-1 win against Egypt, a 2-1 defeat by Zambia and the 2-1 quarter-final comeback against Ghana.
Temwa Chawinga has been central to Malawi’s impressive run. She has scored four goals and supplied two assists, giving her six goal contributions, level with Zambia’s Barbra Banda for the tournament’s highest total.
Chawinga scored against Ghana and then assisted Rose Kadzere for the winning goal. She has found the net in three of Malawi’s four matches, with the team winning each of those games.
Algeria chasing a first final
Algeria also enter the contest after a landmark quarter-final victory.
They overturned a deficit to beat Côte d’Ivoire 2-1, recording their first-ever WAFCON knockout victory and booking their place in the semi-finals for the first time.
The North Africans also secured qualification for their first FIFA Women’s World Cup through their run in Morocco.
Against Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria fell behind when Inès Konan scored in the 30th minute. Inès Khiri restored parity in the 58th minute before Amira Ould Braham completed the turnaround six minutes later.
Algeria have scored six goals during the tournament while conceding only twice. Their six goals represent their best attacking return in a single WAFCON, surpassing their previous high of four.
Marine Dafeur has played a particularly important role. She has scored twice and assisted once, contributing to goals in all three matches that Algeria have won at the tournament.
Algeria have also shown significant improvement compared with their previous WAFCON campaigns. They have already matched the number of victories they achieved across their previous six appearances combined.
A clash with history at stake
The semi-final represents the first WAFCON meeting between Malawi and Algeria.
Algeria have previously faced Southern African opposition three times at the tournament, beating Botswana once while suffering defeats against South Africa on two occasions.
This will be their first knockout encounter against a Southern African nation.
The match also carries wider significance. With Morocco and Cameroon contesting the other semi-final, none of the four remaining teams has previously lifted the WAFCON trophy.
That guarantees a new champion for the second time in three editions, following South Africa’s maiden triumph in 2022 before Nigeria won the 2024 tournament.
The winner between Malawi and Algeria will therefore move into uncharted territory and have an opportunity to create history in the final.
