Nigeria eliminated as Cameroon, Malawi reach WAFCON semis and World Cup

Nigeria eliminated as Cameroon, Malawi reach WAFCON semis and World CupOutsiders Malawi qualify for their first FIFA World Cup, while defending champions Nigeria are eliminated by Cameroon.Rank outsiders Malawi qualified for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semifinals and the FIFA World Cup by coming from behind to beat Ghana 2-1 in Morocco on Sunday.Trailing after just seven minutes when Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah volleyed Ghana into the lead, Malawi levelled five minutes later as a Temwa Chawinga shot was deflected into the net.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4NBA: Hall of Fame coach and champion player Don Nelson dies at 86list 2 of 4Brazilian player falls into tunnel celebrating goallist 3 of 4Barca eye three-peat as Mourinho back at Madrid in new La Liga seasonlist 4 of 4Top 10 players to watch in the 2026-27 European football seasonend of listWith 79 minutes gone in Rabat, the Malawians went ahead when Rose Kadzere burst into the area and fired past goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan.Rattled Ghana forced late pressure, but never seriously threatened to equalise in the WAFCON quarterfinal.In the semifinals on Wednesday, Malawi will face Algeria in Casablanca after hosts Morocco tackle Cameroon in Rabat. None of the teams has previously won the WAFCON.All four semifinalists secure places at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. The losing quarterfinalists will get a second chance via African and inter-continental playoffs.Malawi upset Ghana to reach maiden World CupMalawi were dismissed as no-hopers before the WAFCON as they are ranked 153rd in the world and had never before qualified for the marquee African women’s football tournament.But they stunned record 10-time WAFCON champions Nigeria in their first match, then beat Egypt. A loss to Zambia did not prevent them winning the group on goals scored.Ghana had been WAFCON runners-up three times and are ranked 62 places above Malawi, but the longer the quarterfinal progressed, the likelier a shock result became.Cameroon end Nigeria’s title defenceEarlier in Casablanca, Myriam Nyadjou scored from a free kick to give Cameroon a surprise 1-0 quarterfinal victory over defending champions Nigeria.