Cameroon and debutants Malawi will meet in a historic CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday, with both sides chasing a first continental title. Kick-off is scheduled for 21:00 CAT.
For Malawi, the occasion represents a remarkable rise.
The Scorchers are playing at the WAFCON for the first time and have already gone further than any previous Southern African debutant. A 3-1 semi-final victory over Algeria secured their place in the final, making Malawi only the second debutant, after Nigeria in 1998, to win at least four matches in open play at a single WAFCON.
Their campaign has also been powered by the Chawinga sisters. Temwa Chawinga has scored five goals and provided two assists, giving her seven goal involvements, the most of any player in the tournament.
She moved level with Zambia’s Barbra Banda at the top of the scoring charts after scoring against Algeria. Her sister, Tabitha, also struck twice in the semi-final to take her tally to four goals.
Together, the Chawinga sisters have scored nine of Malawi’s 12 goals, underlining their importance to a team that has produced the tournament highest goal.
Malawi have also shown remarkable resilience, winning both matches in which they have had a player sent off.
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Cameroon, however, arrive with greater experience. The Indomitable Lionesses are appearing in their fourth WAFCON final, with previous appearances coming in 2004, 2014 and 2016. All three ended in defeat to Nigeria, and Cameroon have yet to score in a WAFCON final, conceding 8 goals across those matches.
This time, they will face a different opponent and will hope to turn experience into history. Victory would make Cameroon the third nation to win both the men and women’s Africa Cup of Nations, following Nigeria and South Africa.
Cameroon have reached the final through a disciplined defensive campaign. They have conceded only 2 goals in the tournament and have kept three clean sheets, including successive shootouts in the knockout rounds.
Their semi-final against hosts Morocco was settled by a penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw, with goalkeeper Michaely Bihina making history by becoming the first Cameroonian goalkeeper to save three penalties in a WAFCON.
Bihina has been particularly important in the knockout stage, making 12 saves across Cameroon’s two matches, including nine against Nigeria in the quarter-final.
The final also presents a clash of contrasting styles and tournament journeys. Malawi have scored 12 goals but are yet to keep a clean sheet, while Cameroon have scored only five but conceded just two.
Historically, neither side has an advantage in this fixture because Sunday’s encounter will be the first WAFCON meeting between Cameroon and Malawi.
It will also be only the third final in WAFCON history in which neither finalist has previously lifted the trophy. The winner will become only the fourth different champion after Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.