Malawi Masterclass! Scorchers Stun Powerhouse Nigeria On WAFCON Debut

by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath

image Malawi Masterclass! Scorchers Stun Powerhouse Nigeria On WAFCON Debut
Tuesday night in the 2026 WAFCON brought us what will be remembered as one of the biggest upsets in African women’s football history, as the reigning champions of the continent, Nigeria, were ruthlessly punished by a fearless Malawi side inspired by the devastating Chawinga sisters.
Enjoying SportyTrader content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account!

Chawinga Sisters Lead Malawi To Historic Victory Over the Super Falcons 

The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has tossed up another massive shock. On Tuesday night, Nigeria dominated possession and created better chances but were left stunned as Malawi pulled off a stunning second-half comeback to beat the defending champions 3-2 in Rabat. 

As expected in our WAFCON predictions, the Super Falcons controlled proceedings for long periods. However, they were unable to find a breakthrough and were punished when Temwa Chawinga struck for the tournament debutants in the 69th minute before Tabitha Chawinga doubled the team’s advantage. 

Nigeria refused to surrender and were handed a lifeline when Rasheedat Ajibade converted from the penalty spot in the 91st minute to set up a dramatic finish, but Temwa found the net again deep in stoppage time to restore the Scorchers' two-goal cushion.

Uchenna Kanu pulled another goal back for the Super Falcons in the dying moments, but the champions could not complete the comeback. The defeat marked the first time a defending WAFCON champion lost to a debutant in the competition.

The historic victory puts Malawi in a strong position to advance to the knockout stage!

Nigeria, meanwhile, must now regroup quickly ahead of their next Group B clash with Zambia on Saturday. The Copper Queens made an emphatic start to their campaign, thrashing Egypt 6-0 in their opener earlier in the day in Casablanca. 

Madugu Under the Spotlight After Malawi Defeat

Nigeria’s shock defeat to Malawi in Rabat is likely to increase scrutiny around Justin Madugu’s tactical decisions and in-game management, with several of his choices coming under the spotlight. 

  • The decision to start veteran defender Osinachi Ohale against arguably the quickest attacking duo in the tournament proved costly. A centre-back pairing of Tosin Demehin and Sukurat Oladipo may have offered greater recovery pace against Malawi’s direct attacking approach.
  • Madugu’s use of substitutes also attracted criticism, as six-time African Women’s Player of the Year Asisat Oshoala was only introduced in the 83rd minute, by which point Nigeria were already two goals down, and Malawi had dropped into a compact defensive block. 
  • Madugu also continued to rely heavily on low deliveries and set-piece routines from Esther Okoronkwo, despite Malawi repeatedly proving capable of dealing with those threats.