Cameroon beat Malawi 3-0 in Rabat to win WAFCON 2026; Monique Ngock named best player

Cameroon defeated Malawi 3-0 in Rabat last weekend to claim the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, with Monique Ngock among the standout performers.

The victory made Cameroon only the fourth nation to lift the Wafcon trophy, following Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa, and the third to have both men’s and women’s continental champions. The outcome was unexpected: Cameroon had not directly qualified for this edition and were only added after the tournament expanded to 16 teams last November, had not reached a Wafcon final in a decade and had never previously scored in a final.

Two months ago the former Cameroon goalkeeper Valentine Nguele, who holds a Confederation of African Football A coaching licence, was appointed as the national team’s first female coach; she had been part of the Louves Minproff support staff that won the Cameroonian first division five times between 2011 and 2020 and an assistant coach with FC Ebolowa, who won the title in 2024 and 2026. “Football is a true passion,” she said. “I love the moments I spend on the pitch every day. My style is participative and engaging.” Under Nguele, Cameroon topped their group and then beat Nigeria in the quarter-finals, hosts Morocco in the semi-final and Malawi in the final, with Nguele becoming the fifth female coach to win Wafcon.

Nigeria’s campaign ended in disappointment as they failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time and then lost 2-1 to South Africa in their World Cup playoff, meaning they will be absent from the tournament for the first time. The Nigerian Football Federation sacked Justine Madugu and his entire technical team and announced plans to set up a taskforce to investigate the national team’s failure.

Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina won the golden glove after a series of prominent displays: she made nine saves in the quarter-final against Nigeria, produced three saves in regular time and three more in the semi-final shootout to deny Morocco, kept a clean sheet in the final and conceded only two goals in six matches. Monique Ngock received the tournament’s best player award and recalled watching the Indomitable Lionesses lose the 2016 final: “When I cried in 2016, I said I will take my revenge one day if God gives me that opportunity. I will do everything to bring that trophy,” she said.

Temwa Chawinga finished as top scorer with five goals and added two assists; she shared the five-goal mark with Barbra Banda (Zambia), Inès Konan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Marie Ngah (Cameroon), with Ngah scoring two in the final. Malawi, who reached the final as debutants and the lowest-ranked team at the event in 153rd place, produced a notable tournament run and secured their first World Cup appearance in Brazil next year.

Malawi’s earlier shock results included a 3-2 win over Nigeria in which Temwa Chawinga opened in the 73rd minute, Tabitha doubled the lead six minutes later, Nigeria responded from the spot in added time before Temwa struck again in the 95th minute to make it 3-1 and Nigeria scored in the 99th minute to set up a dramatic finish that Malawi held to claim victory. Tanzania provided the tournament’s first upset when they scored an 87th-minute winner to beat South Africa in the opening Group B match.

Algeria achieved their best Wafcon finish by taking bronze and scored seven goals at the tournament, more than in any previous edition, with seven different goalscorers including 20-year-old Mélissa Bethi, who has been signed by Washington Spirit. Hosts Morocco struggled in penalty shootouts, converting once in four attempts against Cameroon in the semi-finals and twice in five against Algeria in the third-place playoff, while stadium attendances were generally low: tickets went on sale less than a week before the tournament priced between 20 and 50 Moroccan dirhams (£1.59 to £3.98), this was the third successive Wafcon held in Morocco and official attendance figures have not been released but are unlikely to match the 2022 final crowd of more than 50,000.

By reaching the final, Cameroon and Malawi secured places at the global event, and they will be joined by Morocco and Algeria, who have qualified for the World Cup for the first time.