MATCH STATS: Malawi face Ghana in TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON Morocco 2026 quarter-final

Debutants Malawi have reached the knockout stages as Group C winners and will face Group D runners-up Ghana in a TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 quarter-final at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, 9 August. Kick-off is at 21h00 local time (20h00 GMT), with the winners advancing to the semi-finals and securing automatic qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.

MATCH FACTS

• The two nations have no previous WAFCON history, with Malawi making their tournament debut.
• Malawi’s only match so far against a West African team was their 3-2 victory over Nigeria in their opening game.
• With this meeting, Ghana will have faced both teams making their WAFCON debuts at the current edition. They defeated Cabo Verde 2-0 in their opening group game.
• This will be Ghana’s 10th match against a WAFCON debutant.
• In their previous nine meetings with debutants, Ghana have won eight and lost just once.
• Ghana’s only defeat to a debutant was a 2-0 loss to Nigeria in the 1998 final, at the inaugural tournament when all teams were making their debut.
• Ghana won their first three games against fellow debutants in 1998, defeating South Africa, Cameroon and DR Congo before losing to Nigeria in the final.
• Since losing to Nigeria in the 1998 final, Ghana have won their last five matches against debutants.
• Ghana have faced debutants three times beyond the group stage. They defeated DR Congo 4-1 in the 1998 semi-finals before losing to Nigeria in the final, while they beat Zimbabwe 6-3 in the third-place play-off in 2000.
• Ghana’s only direct knockout match against a debutant, excluding finals and third-place play-offs, was their 4-1 semi-final victory over DR Congo in 1998.
• Ghana’s other six games against debutants have come in the group stage and they have won all six.
• Ghana’s highest-scoring match against a debutant produced nine goals in 2000, when they defeated Zimbabwe 6-3 to claim the bronze medal. All six of Ghana’s goals were scored in the first half.
• Ghana have scored 27 goals and conceded six in their previous nine games against WAFCON debutants.
• Ghana have never lost to a Southern African debutant, defeating South Africa 4-0 in the 1998 group stage and Zimbabwe 6-3 in 2000.

MALAWI

• Malawi lost their final group game against Zambia after winning their opening two matches against Nigeria and Egypt.
• They progressed as Group C winners as they had a superior head-to-head goal difference to Nigeria and Zambia, with all three teams finishing on six points.
• Malawi will be only the second debutants to feature in a WAFCON quarter-final.
• Since a last-eight stage was introduced in 2022, the only other debutants to reach the quarter-finals were Botswana in 2022, when they were defeated 2-1 by Morocco.
• Victory will see Malawi qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.
• A win would also see them become the first WAFCON debutants since Zimbabwe in 2000 to reach the semi-finals.
• Zimbabwe in 2000 are the only Southern African team to date to have reached the last four when making their tournament debut.
• Excluding the inaugural tournament in 1998, Malawi are the first debutants to win two group matches and the first to collect six points. In 1998, Nigeria won nine points and Ghana six.
• Malawi will be Southern Africa’s fourth representative in a WAFCON quarter-final. Excluding 2026, South Africa have won both of their last-eight matches, Zambia have one win and one loss, while Botswana have one defeat.
• The record for Southern African teams in WAFCON quarter-finals reads P5 W3 L2. South Africa defeated Senegal on penalties at the previous edition.
• Tabitha Chawinga scored her second goal of the tournament in the defeat to Zambia, netting in the 72nd minute. Both of her goals at the current finals have come after the 70th minute.
• Chawinga scored with her only shot on target in the game.
• She also won 11 duels against Zambia, the most by any player in the match.
• Rose Kadzere won six aerial duels against Zambia, more than any other player.
• Malawi have scored and conceded in each of their three matches.
• Their seven goals in the group stage are the most by WAFCON debutants since Côte d’Ivoire also scored seven in 2012.
• Malawi are the first debutants since Togo in 2022 to score in all three of their group games. Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso and Cabo Verde failed to do so on their debuts.
• The defeat to Zambia was the first time Malawi had conceded first at the WAFCON and also the first time they had trailed at half-time.
• They have been ahead at half-time just once, leading Egypt 2-0 in their second group game. They trailed Zambia 2-0 at half-time in their third group match and were level 0-0 with Nigeria after 45 minutes in their opener.
• Both of Zambia’s goals came in the first half, the first time Malawi had conceded before half-time at the WAFCON.
• Barbra Banda’s opener for Zambia after two minutes was the earliest goal Malawi have conceded at the tournament.
• Five of Malawi’s seven goals have come in the second half, with all five scored from the 68th minute onwards.
• Three of the five goals they have conceded have come in the second half.
• Malawi received four yellow cards in the defeat to Zambia and committed 16 fouls.
• They won 62 duels against Zambia.

GHANA

• Ghana are seeking a victory that would send them to their fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup, having previously qualified in 1999, 2003 and 2007.
• They progressed as Group D runners-up. An opening-game victory over Cabo Verde was followed by a defeat to Cameroon before they drew their final match 1-1 with Mali.
• This is Ghana’s second WAFCON quarter-final. Their previous last-eight encounter was against Algeria in 2024, when the match ended 0-0 and Ghana progressed with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory after extra time.
• All three of Ghana’s knockout games at the previous edition were decided on penalties. They defeated Algeria before losing to Morocco in the semi-finals following a 1-1 draw, and then beat South Africa 4-3 on penalties in the bronze-medal match after another 1-1 draw.
• Victory will take Ghana to their eighth WAFCON semi-final.
• Ghana reached the last four at five successive tournaments between 1998 and 2006 before failing to do so in 2008, 2010 and 2014.
• They finished third in 2016 but failed to progress from the group stage as hosts in 2018. They returned to finish third at the 2024 edition.
• Ghana have played 15 matches beyond the group stage at the WAFCON. Including matches decided on penalties, their record reads W8 L7.
• Ghana have been involved in four WAFCON penalty shoot-outs, winning three.
• Their three shoot-out victories came against Ethiopia in the 2004 third-place play-off, and against Algeria and South Africa in the 2024 quarter-finals and third-place play-off respectively.
• The matches against Ethiopia and Algeria ended 0-0, while the game against South Africa finished 1-1.
• Ghana’s only penalty shoot-out defeat came against Morocco at the 2024 edition.
• All three of their knockout matches in 2024 were decided on penalties, making Ghana the first team to be involved in three shoot-outs at the same WAFCON edition.
• Ghana’s only victory in open play in their last six matches was the win over Cabo Verde (D4 L1 in the other five).
• They have kept one clean sheet in their last five matches, which came in the 2-0 victory over Cabo Verde.
• Evelyn Badu scored Ghana’s goal against Mali, her first at the current edition and second at the WAFCON overall. She previously scored in a 4-1 group-stage victory over Tanzania in 2024.
• Badu scored with her only attempt on target against Mali.
• Ghana managed nine shots on target against Mali, their most in any of their three games at the current finals.
• Doris Boaduwaa attempted seven shots against Mali, with three on target, both match-high figures.
• Alice Kusi had 74 touches against Mali, the most by any player in the game.
• Ghana have collected just three yellow cards at the current finals, with only Algeria having received fewer with two.