Malawi and Nigeria are through to the WAFCON 2026 quarter-finals after a chaotic Group C finale ended with all three teams level on six points, and Zambia eliminated on the finest of margins.
The Copper Queens beat Malawi 2-1 through goals from Barbara Banda and Prisca Chilufya. Tabitha Chawinga replied for Malawi, but it was not enough.
At the same time in the other fixture, Nigeria did their job emphatically, hammering Egypt 6-2.
With Nigeria, Malawi and Zambia all on six points, CAF ignored overall goal difference first.
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It turned to results between the three teams. Zambia beat Malawi but lost 1-0 to Nigeria. Malawi beat Nigeria 3-2. That left each side on three points in the mini-league, with identical head-to-head goal difference of zero.
CAF then went to goals scored in those matches. Malawi had four, Nigeria three, and Zambia two. On that tiebreaker, Malawi finished top of the group, Nigeria second, and Zambia third.
Zambia’s 6-0 win over Egypt boosted their overall goal difference, but that only counts after head-to-head rules fail to separate teams. As a result, the Copper Queens become the first team in WAFCON history to earn six points and still exit at the group stage.
