Chawinga sisters inspire Malawi into historic Women's Africa Cup of Nations final

Malawi's national women's football team has achieved a historic milestone, reaching the final of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON for the first time in their debut appearance. The Chawinga sisters, Temwa and Tabitha, were instrumental in their 3-1 semi-final victory over Algeria at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat on Wednesday.

This remarkable achievement makes Malawi the first tournament debutants since Zimbabwe in 2000 to progress this far in the competition. The match was intense, featuring two red cards before halftime. Algeria's defender Morgane Belkhiter was sent off in the opening half-hour after a VAR review for denying Malawi captain Tabitha Chawinga a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Tabitha Chawinga then opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a spectacular overhead kick that hit the crossbar before finding the net. Her younger sister, Temwa, extended Malawi's lead just before halftime. Algeria's hopes were further dashed when another defender received a second red card after a lengthy VAR check, leaving both teams to play the second half with ten players.

Despite Algeria's Ikram Adjabi scoring shortly after the restart, Tabitha Chawinga sealed the victory with her second goal of the match. This win marks a significant upset, as Malawi, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, has now defeated established nations like Nigeria, Ghana, and Algeria en route to the final. Temwa Chawinga's brace brought her tournament tally to four goals, contributing to her six total goal involvements, matching Zambia's Barbra Banda for the most in the finals. For Algeria, the loss ended their best-ever WAFCON run and their first qualification for the FIFA Women's World Cup.