Zambia bow out of WAFCON despite beating Malawi

Barbara Banda

The Zambia Women’s National Team have been eliminated from the 2026 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) despite ending their Group C campaign with a victory over Malawi on Wednesday evening.

The Copper Queens collected all three points in their final group match, but the result was not enough to secure a place in the quarter-finals following results elsewhere in the group.

Zambia finished their campaign with two wins and one defeat, but missed out on progression as Group C standings were decided on the competition’s qualification criteria.

Zambia had opened their campaign with a commanding 6-0 win over Egypt before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to Nigeria, leaving qualification dependent on the final round of group fixtures. Although they responded with a win over Malawi, it proved insufficient to book a place in the last eight.

The early exit marks a disappointing end to Zambia’s WAFCON campaign after entering the tournament with high expectations, having been among the continent’s leading women’s teams in recent years.