Nigeria and Malawi Qualify for Quarter-Finals

Despite a disappointing opening match against Malawi in the ongoing WAFCON 2026 in Morocco, which saw ten-time champions Super Falcons losing to the Scorchers of Malawi 2-3, the Nigerian side recovered in the second match, beating Zambia 1-0 and delivering a superlative performance against the Egyptian who were roundly beaten 6-2 by the West Africans on match day 3.

Day 3 began with all the teams in the group except Egypt having the potential to reach the last eight. Malawi had six points after beating Nigeria 3-2 and Egypt 3-1 in their first two matches. Zambia, on the other hand, had 3 points after beating Egypt 6-0 and losing to Nigeria 0-1. The Super Falcons, who have not failed to qualify for the knockout stages in previous editions, found themselves in a precariously dangerous position after losing their first match to a less fancied debutant, the Scorchers of Malawi.

With Zambia leading 2-1 in the other Group C match played simultaneously with the match between Nigeria and Egypt, the Super Falcons needed to take their fate in their own hands, and indeed, they did that with a convincing 6-2 win in a match that produced 4 penalties, one to Egypt and three to Nigeria. All four penalties were converted.

With all three teams ending the night on six points, goal difference and head-to-head would be the decider. With all the calculations done, it was Malawi and Nigeria that scaled through, while Zambia got eliminated despite having six points.

The Super Falcons will play the Lionesses of Cameroon in their quarter-final match, as they seek to defend their title and reach the last four, which would also ensure they qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year.

Source: MRA