\u2014 CAF Women Football (@CAFwomen) August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n With reigning champions Nigeria eliminated, there will be a new continental champion in Africa. None of the four semifinalists have ever lifted the trophy either.<\/p>\n The road to Brazil is not quite over for the defeated quarterfinalists. The losing quartet will have a chance to earn two berths to FIFA\u2019s inter-confederation play-offs in February 2027. On Thursday, Aug. 13, the two play-in matches will see Ivory Coast take on Ghana and, in a meeting between the previous two WAFCON champions, South Africa will take on Nigeria.<\/p>\n \n Algeria qualified for their first Women\u2019s World Cup. (Muzi Ntombela \/ BackpagePix via CAF)<\/p>\n Algeria 2-1 Ivory Coast \u2014 Moulay Rachid Stadium, Casablanca<\/p>\n The Elephants of Ivory Coast entered their WAFCON quarterfinal as one of the more attack-minded teams in the tournament, having put eight goals past their opponents in the group stage. Algeria, meanwhile, have had one of the strongest defences, conceding just once in the same period.<\/p>\n For much of the first half of the quarterfinal, the West African side were well in control of the match. After an early goal was called back due to offside in the build-up, Ivorian forward Ines Konan formally opened the scoring in the 29th minute with her fourth goal of the tournament. But the momentum of the match immediately swung away from Ivory Coast when one of its most influential players, 18-year-old striker N\u2019Sira Ouedraogo, was shown a straight red card just before halftime for a high cleat infraction.<\/p>\n Reduced to 10 players, the Ivorians continued to make attempts on goal, but Algeria identified a vulnerability in goalkeeper Aramatou Diakit\u00e9, who struggled to contain their long-range shots. Both of Algeria\u2019s goals \u2014 the first from In\u00e8s Khiri in the 58th minute, then from Amira Braham in the 64th \u2014 were taken from outside the box. Ivory Coast were awarded a penalty in between Algeria\u2019s goals, but R\u00e9becca Elloh\u2019s shot smacked the post and was cleared away.<\/p>\n With their victory, the Desert Foxes of Algeria have earned their first invitation to the World Cup next year, and will compete in their first WAFCON semifinal. They will meet Malawi on Aug. 13 at Olympic Stadium in Rabat.<\/p>\n \n Morocco qualifies for their second Women\u2019s World Cup and advances to the WAFCON semifinals. (Sydney Mahlangu \/ BackpagePix via CAF)<\/p>\n Morocco 2-1 South Africa \u2014 Moulay El Hassan Stadium, Rabat<\/p>\n The second quarterfinal clash on Saturday between Morocco and South Africa saw the WAFCON hosts and two-time finalists meet the team that dashed their hopes of a continental trophy in 2022, when South Africa beat them 2-1. In the years since, the teams\u2019 trajectories have gone in different directions; Morocco have bolstered their squad, while South Africa have remained largely stagnant with little to offer their aging veteran players.<\/p>\n Morocco went unbeaten and didn\u2019t concede any goals in their group stage matches to top their group, while South Africa lost their first match to Tanzania, clawed their way to a 2-2 draw with Ivory Coast, and squeezed past Burkina Faso 1-0 to reach the quarterfinal as the second seed in their group. They started with momentum, but a spectacular volley outside the box from Moroccan winger Sakina Ouzraoui gave control to Morocco.<\/p>\n Unlike their 2025 WAFCON campaign, South Africa did have striker Thembi Kgatlana this time around. The 30-year-old Tigres forward suffered an ACL injury during the group stage of Banyana Banyana\u2019s championship run in 2022 and missed the rest of that tournament, and chose not to participate in 2025 due to personal reasons. Kgatlana scored two goals in South Africa\u2019s last two matches of group play that proved instrumental to their knockout stage hopes. And on Saturday, she rose to the occasion again. Her 71st-minute goal thrust Morocco into an uneasy position for the rest of the match.<\/p>\n Morocco will compete in their second consecutive World Cup and face Cameroon in the semifinal on Aug. 13 in Rabat.<\/p>\n \n Cameroon defeated 10-time WAFCON champions Nigeria to qualify for the 2027 Women\u2019s World Cup. (BackpagePix via CAF)<\/p>\n Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria \u2014 Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca<\/p>\n The unthinkable happened on Sunday night when the reigning WAFCON champions were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage 1-0 by Cameroon. This was Nigeria\u2019s earliest exit at WAFCON, having won 10 of 13 official continental tournaments and making the semifinals in the other three. It was just the second time in 14 meetings that Cameroon had defeated Nigeria.<\/p>\n Although 19-year-old Cameroon defender Ma\u00e9va Nyadjou scored the winning goal with a drilled direct free-kick in the 19th minute, it was goalkeeper Michaely Bihina who grabbed the player of the match honors. As Nigeria piled on the pressure, the 22-year-old shot-stopper made nine saves on her way to a clean sheet. \u201cWe have always been dominated by Nigeria, but today we\u2019ve turned the tide,\u201d Bihina told the broadcast.<\/p>\n Nigeria and Washington Spirit midfielder Deb Abiodun, who helped Nigeria lift the WAFCON trophy one year ago, could be seen weeping into her jersey after the full-time whistle. She wasn\u2019t the only Super Falcon to do so. The shock defeat also severely harms their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup.<\/p>\n For Cameroon, it was elation. The Indomitable Lionesses did not originally qualify for this competition until CAF decided to expand the tournament to 16 teams in November 2025. But now they have booked their ticket for their first World Cup and are into the semifinals of WAFCON for the first time since 2018. The three-time runners-up will be hoping that 2026 could be the year that brings home a first continental championship.<\/p>\n Malawi 2-1 Ghana \u2014 Al Medina Stadium, Rabat<\/p>\n The quarterfinals closed out Sunday night with more African soccer history. WAFCON debutants Malawi came from behind to defeat Ghana 2-1 and, by doing so, qualified for their first-ever World Cup.<\/p>\n Ranked 153rd in the world, Malawi are the lowest-ranked team in Morocco. But you\u2019d never know it from the quality and confidence of their play. That was no more evident than when Rose Kadzere scored the historic winning goal in the 78th minute.<\/p>\n The 20-year-old midfielder kept her cool to take a touch and finish off a pass from Temwa Chawinga in the middle of the box.<\/p>\n Just Chawinga sister duties. \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfc\u2764\ufe0f#TotalEnergiesWAFCON2026<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QaBqy2cYPE<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B26HCMN2822-scaled.jpg\")
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