WAFCON 2026: Malawi beat Egypt to move within reach of historic Quarter-Final

Malawi continued their fairytale debut at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with an impressive 3-1 victory over Egypt in their second Group C match on Saturday.

The Scorchers showed remarkable resilience to claim all three points despite playing with 10 players for much of the second half after Rose Alufandika was sent off.

Goals from Rose Kadzere, Faith Chinzimu, and Temwa Chawinga sealed Malawi’s second consecutive victory, putting them firmly on course for a historic place in the knockout stage.

Malawi made a confident start and were rewarded in the 35th minute when Rose Kadzere opened the scoring to give the tournament debutants a deserved lead.

The Scorchers continued to pile pressure on Egypt and doubled their advantage deep into first-half stoppage time.

Faith Chinzimu found the back of the net in the second minute of added time, sending Malawi into the break with a commanding 2-0 advantage.

The momentum appeared to shift early in the second half when Rose Alufandika received a straight red card in the 52nd minute, forcing Malawi to play the remainder of the game with ten players.

However, instead of retreating, the Scorchers continued to threaten on the counterattack.

Their determination paid off in the 69th minute when star striker Temwa Chawinga scored Malawi’s third goal of the afternoon, taking her tally for the tournament to three goals.

Egypt managed to reduce the deficit just two minutes later through Eman Kassem, offering the Cleopatras a glimmer of hope.

Despite their numerical advantage, Egypt were unable to mount a sustained comeback as Malawi defended resolutely to preserve their two-goal cushion until the final whistle.

The victory takes Malawi to six points from their opening two Group C matches, following their stunning opening-day victory over defending champions Nigeria.

The result temporarily sends the Scorchers to the top of the group and leaves them on the verge of a remarkable quarter-final qualification in their maiden WAFCON appearance.

Their fate will now partly depend on the outcome of the Group C encounter between Nigeria’s Super Falcons and Zambia’s Copper Queens later.