Malawi produced one of the biggest upsets in Women’s Africa Cup of Nations history after defeating defending champions Nigeria 3-2 in their Group C opener at the 2026 WAFCON on Tuesday.
The Scorchers claimed a famous victory courtesy of a brilliant display from the Chawinga sisters. Temwa Chawinga scored twice, while Tabitha Chawinga added the other goal to hand Malawi their first-ever WAFCON victory, throwing Group C wide open.
Nigeria dominated possession for much of the opening half but struggled to convert their control into clear-cut chances. The Super Falcons’ biggest threat came from Esther Okoronkwo’s deliveries from set-pieces, but Malawi defended resolutely to keep the African champions at bay.
Malawi, meanwhile, looked dangerous whenever they broke forward, using the pace and movement of the Chawinga sisters to stretch Nigeria’s defence on several occasions.
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The Super Falcons believed they should have been awarded a penalty five minutes before the break when Okoronkwo was brought down inside the box, but the referee waved away the appeals as both sides went into halftime goalless.
Malawi thought they had broken the deadlock five minutes into the second half when Tabitha Chawinga finished clinically with the outside of her boot, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
Nigeria head coach Justin Madugu responded by introducing Uchenna Kanu and Toni Payne in the 56th minute, replacing Chinwendu Ihezuo and Folashade Ijamilusi in an attempt to inject more attacking impetus.
However, it was Malawi who eventually found the breakthrough in the 73rd minute. Temwa Chawinga latched onto a perfectly weighted ball behind the Nigerian defence, went past goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie with a composed control before calmly finishing into the empty net.
The Scorchers doubled their advantage just six minutes later. Another dangerous delivery into the box picked out Tabitha Chawinga, who stretched to poke the ball beyond Nnadozie and make it 2-0.
Malawi continued to threaten on the counter and squandered further opportunities to put the game beyond doubt before Nigeria were handed a route back into the contest.
The Super Falcons were awarded a late penalty after a handball inside the box, and captain Rasheedat Ajibade confidently converted from the spot to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Any hopes of a Nigerian comeback were quickly extinguished, however, as Temwa Chawinga completed her brace just three minutes later. The striker raced onto another ball over the top before delicately lifting her finish beyond the reach of Nnadozie to restore Malawi’s two-goal cushion at 3-1.
Substitute Uchenna Kanu pulled another goal back in stoppage time to make it 3-2, but Malawi held firm through the closing moments to seal a memorable victory.
The result leaves Malawi on three points in Group C, sitting second behind Zambia, who opened their campaign with a commanding 6-0 victory over Egypt. Nigeria, meanwhile, begin their title defence with a shock defeat and will need a positive response in their remaining group-stage matches to keep their hopes of retaining the WAFCON crown alive.
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