MATCH STATS: Cameroon face Malawi in historic WAFCON final

Cameroon and debutantes Malawi meet in the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, August 16 (kick-off 21h00 local time; 20h00 GMT). One of them will be crowned champions for the first time. 

FINAL FACTS

• This is the first final since 2022 in which neither team have previously won the WAFCON title.
• Including the inaugural tournament in 1998, this is only the third final in which neither finalist had previously lifted the trophy. Nigeria defeated Ghana in 1998, while South Africa beat Morocco in 2022.
• The winner will become the fourth different WAFCON champion, joining 10-time winners Nigeria, two-time champions Equatorial Guinea and 2022 winners South Africa.
• Malawi are the seventh different nation to reach the WAFCON final. The previous finalists are Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
• Victory for Cameroon would see them become the third nation to have won both the men’s Africa Cup of Nations and the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, after Nigeria and South Africa.
• Of the previous 13 finals, only one has ended 0-0, required extra time or been decided on penalties. That was Nigeria’s victory over South Africa in 2018, when the Super Falcons won the shoot-out 4-3.
• The most goals scored in a WAFCON final is six, when Nigeria defeated Equatorial Guinea 4-2 in 2010.
• The biggest victory in a WAFCON final was Nigeria’s 5-0 win over Cameroon in 2004, followed by Equatorial Guinea’s 4-0 success against South Africa in 2012.
• Seven of the previous 13 finals have been won by a margin of two or more goals.
• Five finals have been decided by a single goal: Nigeria’s 1-0 victories over Ghana and Cameroon in 2006 and 2016 respectively, Equatorial Guinea’s 2-1 win over South Africa in 2008, South Africa’s 2-1 victory against Morocco in 2022 and Nigeria’s 3-2 success over Morocco in 2024.
• The 2024 final is the only occasion on which a team has scored first and gone on to lose. Morocco led Nigeria 2-0 before the Super Falcons came back to win 3-2.
• In nine of the previous 13 finals, the winning team has kept a clean sheet.
• Both teams have scored in only four previous finals: Equatorial Guinea’s 2-1 win over South Africa in 2008, Nigeria’s 4-2 victory against Equatorial Guinea in 2010, South Africa’s 2-1 success over Morocco in 2022 and Nigeria’s 3-2 victory against Morocco in 2024.
• Two of those four finals in which both teams scored involved South Africa.
• Perpetua Nkwocha is the only player to score a hat-trick in a WAFCON final. She went one better with four goals in Nigeria’s 5-0 victory over Cameroon in 2004.

MATCH FACTS

• This will be the first WAFCON meeting between Cameroon and Malawi.
• Cameroon are appearing in a WAFCON final for the fourth time, behind only Nigeria (10) and South Africa (5) for appearances in the deciding match.
• Cameroon take Central Africa’s total number of WAFCON final appearances to eight. Equatorial Guinea have appeared in three previous finals and DR Congo once.
• Cameroon’s four appearances are the most by a Central African nation.
• Of the seven previous finals involving Central African teams, they have lost five: DR Congo in 1998, Equatorial Guinea in 2010 and Cameroon in 2004, 2014 and 2016.
• The only previous WAFCON titles won by Central African teams were Equatorial Guinea’s triumphs in 2008 and 2012.
• Defeat for Cameroon would see them join South Africa as the only nations to have lost four WAFCON finals. Ghana have lost three, as have Cameroon.
• Defeat would also see Cameroon become the second nation after South Africa to lose their first four WAFCON finals.
• Malawi are only the second Southern African nation to reach a WAFCON final, after South Africa, who have appeared in five.
• Victory for Malawi would make them the second Southern African team to win the title after South Africa.
• This will be the third WAFCON final between Central and Southern African teams. The previous two were both won by Central African sides, with Equatorial Guinea defeating South Africa 2-1 in 2008 and 4-0 in 2012.
• Malawi have scored 12 goals at the current tournament, the most of any team, and conceded seven.
• Cameroon have scored five goals and conceded just two.
• Cameroon have kept three clean sheets at the tournament, while Malawi are yet to keep one.

Cameroon – Key Statistics

• Cameroon defeated hosts Morocco in the semi-finals to reach their fourth WAFCON final.
• This is Cameroon’s first appearance in the final since 2016, with their other appearances coming in 2004 and 2014.
• All three of Cameroon’s previous finals were against Nigeria.
• Cameroon will therefore face a team other than Nigeria in a WAFCON final for the first time.
• Their first appearance in the final saw them lose 5-0 to Nigeria in 2004. They then lost 2-0 and 1-0 to the Super Falcons in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
• Cameroon have conceded eight goals across their previous three finals and are yet to score.
• Five of those eight goals were conceded in the first half.
• In their first final in 2004, Cameroon trailed Nigeria 3-0 at halftime before conceding twice more in the second half. They were 2-0 down at the break in the 2014 final.
• The 2016 decider was the only one of their previous three finals in which Cameroon did not concede in the first half.
• Cameroon are appearing in a WAFCON final in North Africa for the first time. Their finals in 2004 and 2014 were staged in Southern Africa, while they hosted the tournament in 2016.
• Cameroon have conceded only two goals on their way to the final. They have only conceded fewer en route to a decider once before, in 2016, when they did not let in a goal in their four matches before the final.
• They have won three games in open play at the current edition. Cameroon have won four matches at a single WAFCON only once before, in 2016, when their only defeat came in the final.
• Cameroon have kept three clean sheets and have only managed more at a single edition once before, with four in 2016.
• They have not conceded in the knockout rounds, the first time they have kept successive clean sheets in WAFCON knockout matches.
• Cameroon have been involved in four WAFCON penalty shoot-outs, with their semi-final victory over Morocco their first success.
• They lost the 1998 third-place play-off to DR Congo on penalties following a 3-3 draw.
• They suffered another shoot-out defeat to Nigeria in the 2008 third-place play-off following a 1-1 draw.
• Cameroon also lost the 2018 semi-final to Nigeria on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
• Goalkeeper Michaely Bihina became the first Cameroon goalkeeper to save three penalties in a WAFCON shoot-out in the victory over Morocco.
• Bihina is also the first goalkeeper to save penalties from Moroccan players in a WAFCON shoot-out.
• Across Cameroon’s two knockout matches, Bihina has made 12 saves, with nine against Nigeria and three against Morocco.
• Cameroon had just 36% possession against Morocco in the semi-final.
• Monique Ngock was involved in 33 duels against Morocco, the most of any player, and won a match-high 20.

Malawi – Key Statistics

• Malawi defeated Algeria 3-1 in the semi-finals to advance to the final.
• The Scorchers have reached the WAFCON final in their debut appearance.
• They are the first Southern African team to reach the final on their tournament debut.
• Malawi have won four games in open play at the current tournament. The only other debutants to win at least four games in open play were Nigeria in 1998, when they won five.
• Malawi are only the second debutant team, after Nigeria in 1998, to win four matches at their first WAFCON.
• In their semi-final victory over Algeria, both teams had a player sent off, the first time a match involving Malawi at WAFCON had produced a red card for each side.
• Rose Kadzere was sent off in second-half stoppage time against Algeria, becoming the second Malawi player to receive a red card at the tournament. Rose Alufandika was dismissed in their group-stage victory over Egypt.
• Malawi have won both matches in which they have had a player sent off.
• Malawi have scored five first-half goals and seven in the second half.
• Tabitha Chawinga scored twice against Algeria to take her tournament tally to four goals.
• Temwa Chawinga also scored against Algeria to move to five goals and draw level with Zambia’s Barbra Banda as the tournament’s leading scorer.
• The Chawinga sisters have scored nine of Malawi’s 12 goals.
• Temwa has seven goal involvements, the most of any player at the tournament, with five goals and two assists.
• Malawi have used just 17 members of their squad, with eight players starting all five matches.
• Bernadetta Mkandawire provided an assist against Algeria, her second of the tournament, putting her joint-top for Malawi.
• Mkandawire and Tabitha Chawinga have played all 450 minutes of Malawi’s campaign. They are joined by Ireen Khumalo, Chimwemwe Madise and goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo as the five players to have featured in every minute.
• Malawi faced nine shots on target against Algeria, with Sikelo making eight saves.
• They had 40% possession in the semi-final.