Published August 17, 2026
Cameroon won its first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title Sunday, beating tournament debutants Malawi 3-0 in the final in Rabat, Morocco. The bigger headline from WAFCON 2026’s final week, though, belongs to Nigeria: the 10-time African champion officially missed out on the 2027 World Cup for the first time since the tournament’s 1991 debut, after South Africa eliminated the Super Falcons in Thursday’s qualifying playoff — and three Washington Spirit players are now cleared to return to their NWSL club.
Key Takeaways
- Cameroon won its first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title Sunday, beating debutants Malawi 3-0 in the final in Rabat — a breakthrough for a team that initially failed to qualify for the 16-team tournament before an expansion spot gave it a second chance.
- Nigeria’s streak of qualifying for every Women’s World Cup since 1991 is officially over. South Africa eliminated the 10-time African champion 2-1 in Thursday’s playoff, sending the Super Falcons home for the first time in program history.
- Four teams — Cameroon, Malawi, Morocco and Algeria — qualified directly for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil by reaching the WAFCON semifinals. South Africa and Ghana advance to a separate intercontinental playoff for two more African spots.
- Washington Spirit’s Deborah Abiodun and Gift Monday (Nigeria) and Rosemonde Kouassi (Ivory Coast) are now fully eliminated from WAFCON and cleared to return to the NWSL club, exactly as uswomensoccer.com projected earlier in the tournament.
- Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga finished the tournament tied for the Golden Boot with Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda after scoring five goals for runner-up Malawi.
Cameroon Wins First-Ever WAFCON Title
Cameroon beat Malawi 3-0 in Sunday’s final at Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, claiming the country’s first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title after three previous final losses, in 2004, 2014 and 2016. Marie Ngah Manga scored twice and Naomi Ndjoah Eto added a third in a dominant first half that put the result out of reach before the break.
The story behind the win is almost as remarkable as the result itself. Cameroon didn’t originally qualify for the 16-team tournament — the team earned a spot only after CAF’s decision to expand the field gave places to the highest-ranked teams eliminated in regular qualifying. Head coaches Valentine Nguele and Dimitri Lipoff were appointed barely six weeks before the tournament began. Cameroon then conceded just two goals across the entire competition, including none in three knockout matches, behind goalkeeper Michaely Bihina’s penalty-shootout heroics in the semifinal win over host Morocco.
Malawi’s run ended in defeat, but the tournament debutants — ranked 153rd in the world — still leave Morocco with a first-ever Women’s World Cup berth. Sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga scored nine of Malawi’s 13 tournament goals between them, eliminating Nigeria and Ghana along the way before running into a Cameroon side playing its best half of the tournament. Temwa Chawinga, the Kansas City Current forward, finished with five goals, tying Zambia’s Barbra Banda — who plays for Orlando Pride — atop the tournament’s scoring chart.
Why It Matters: Nigeria’s Historic World Cup Streak Is Over
The tournament’s most consequential result didn’t happen in the final. On Thursday, South Africa beat Nigeria 2-1 in a winner-take-all playoff — Thembi Kgatlana’s 56th-minute goal proved decisive, and a stoppage-time Nigerian penalty wasn’t enough to level it — eliminating the 10-time WAFCON champion from 2027 World Cup contention. Nigeria had qualified for every Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991. That streak is now over.
It’s a genuinely historic result for African soccer, and it happened with an NWSL player in the middle of the final sequence: Chicago Stars defender Michelle Alozie had the game’s last real chance in stoppage time, with South Africa goalkeeper Kaylin Swart making the save that sealed Nigeria’s elimination. Ghana eliminated Ivory Coast in the tournament’s other playoff, 2-1, meaning South Africa and Ghana — not Nigeria or Ivory Coast — will represent that side of the bracket in November and December’s intercontinental playoff for the World Cup’s final three global spots.
What Does This Mean for the Washington Spirit’s Roster?
As uswomensoccer.com covered when Trinity Rodman was named NWSL Player of the Month and again heading into the WAFCON semifinals, three Washington Spirit players were away at WAFCON for most of August: Deborah Abiodun and Gift Monday with Nigeria, and Rosemonde Kouassi with Ivory Coast. All three teams are now eliminated from the 2027 World Cup picture entirely — Nigeria and Ivory Coast both lost Thursday’s playoff — which means none of the three has another WAFCON-related match to play this cycle. That clears Abiodun, Monday and Kouassi to rejoin the Spirit in the coming days, exactly the outcome this site projected when the playoff bracket was set.
Washington has lost back-to-back NWSL matches without its full group of internationals available, and the club’s playoff push should benefit from getting Abiodun, Kouassi and Monday reintegrated ahead of an Aug. 23 home match against Orlando Pride — itself now a game with an extra thread of interest, given Orlando’s Barbra Banda just finished as WAFCON’s co-Golden Boot winner.
Which African Teams Qualified for the 2027 World Cup?
Here’s the complete picture after WAFCON 2026:
| Team | WAFCON 2026 Result | 2027 World Cup Status |
|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | Champion, beat Malawi 3-0 in the final | Qualified for Brazil 2027 |
| Malawi | Runner-up, lost the final 3-0 | Qualified for Brazil 2027 (first-ever World Cup) |
| Morocco | Lost semifinal to Cameroon on penalties | Qualified for Brazil 2027 |
| Algeria | Lost semifinal to Malawi | Qualified for Brazil 2027 (first-ever World Cup) |
| South Africa | Beat Nigeria 2-1 in Thursday’s playoff | Advances to intercontinental playoff (Nov.–Dec. 2026) |
| Ghana | Beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Thursday’s playoff | Advances to intercontinental playoff (Nov.–Dec. 2026) |
| Nigeria | Lost Thursday’s playoff to South Africa, 2-1 | Eliminated — misses a Women’s World Cup for the first time since 1991 |
| Ivory Coast | Lost Thursday’s playoff to Ghana, 2-1 | Eliminated from 2027 World Cup contention |
Four spots are settled outright. The final two African berths won’t be decided until South Africa and Ghana each navigate a global intercontinental playoff — a centralized event most likely held in November or December — against teams from Asia, South America and Oceania.
What Comes Next
The immediate NWSL storyline is roster integration: expect Washington Spirit to confirm Abiodun, Monday and Kouassi back in training this week, ahead of the club’s Aug. 23 match against Orlando Pride. Temwa Chawinga returns to a Kansas City Current side navigating its own playoff push after a tournament that raised her international profile further. Nationally, South Africa and Ghana now wait for FIFA to finalize the intercontinental playoff draw and dates, expected later this year.
Conclusion
WAFCON 2026 delivered two stories that will shape African soccer for years: Cameroon’s improbable first title, won by a team that needed a wildcard just to enter the tournament, and Nigeria’s stunning fall from a streak that had outlasted more than three decades of World Cup cycles. For NWSL fans, the tournament’s close resolves a smaller but real subplot uswomensoccer.com has followed since Aug. 11 — three Washington Spirit internationals are coming home, and the league’s connection to the global game just got another data point in Temwa Chawinga’s Golden Boot finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations?
Cameroon won its first-ever WAFCON title, beating tournament debutants Malawi 3-0 in Sunday’s final in Rabat, Morocco. Marie Ngah Manga scored twice and Naomi Ndjoah Eto added a third goal in a dominant first-half performance.
Did Nigeria qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup?
No. Nigeria lost 2-1 to South Africa in Thursday’s WAFCON playoff, ending the Super Falcons’ streak of qualifying for every Women’s World Cup since the tournament’s 1991 debut. It’s the first time in program history Nigeria has missed the tournament.
Which teams qualified for the 2027 Women’s World Cup from Africa?
Cameroon, Malawi, Morocco and Algeria qualified directly by reaching the WAFCON semifinals. South Africa and Ghana advance to a separate intercontinental playoff later this year for two more African spots at the tournament in Brazil.
When will Washington Spirit’s WAFCON players return to the NWSL?
Deborah Abiodun, Gift Monday and Rosemonde Kouassi are expected to rejoin Washington Spirit training this week. Their national teams — Nigeria and Ivory Coast — were both eliminated from WAFCON in Thursday’s playoff round, clearing all three players for club duty.
How did Temwa Chawinga perform at WAFCON 2026?
The Kansas City Current forward scored five goals for Malawi, helping the tournament debutants reach their first-ever WAFCON final and clinch a first-ever Women’s World Cup berth. Her tournament total tied Zambia’s Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) for the WAFCON Golden Boot.