Temwa Chawinga and Tabitha Chawinga scored the first goals in Malawi's WAFCON history as they stunned the Super Falcons of Nigeria in the Group C opener at Stade El-Barid in Rabat, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria 2-3 Malawi: What just happened
In a game where many expected the Super Falcons of Nigeria to dominate, given their rich history against WAFCON debutants, Malawi remained resilient in the first half.
After testing several combinations in the friendly games, Justine Madugu opted to start a front three of Esther Okoronkwo, Florence Ijamilusi and Chiwendu Ihezuo, but the attack was futile in the first half as they failed to muster an attempt on target.
Sloppy passes, poor communication and slow build-up play defined the first half of Nigeria's journey to their title defence.
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The big talking point: Chawinga sisters instrumental
Malawi threatened in the first half. Temwa Chawinga's cut-back to her sister, Tabitha, was just denied by Chiamaka Nnadozie. At the start of the second half, Tabitha thought she'd found the back of the net, but the flag went up, ruling the 30-year-old's attempt offside.
Florence Ijamilusi and Chiwendu Ihezuo went off in the 56th minute, replaced by Inter Milan's latest signing, Toni Payne, and Uchenna Kanu.
Kanu's effect was seen just minutes later as she dribbled through the left flank to cut the ball back into Alozie, who was filling in for the injured Ashleigh Plumptre. The resulting attempt was just wide.
Rasheedat Ajibade came close ten minutes later, but her header was easily tamed by Mercy Sikelo.
The breakthrough came in the 73rd minute. A long ball from Ireen Khumalo found Temwa Chawinga in space between Demehin and Ohale, but the Kansas City Current striker drifted wide before beating Nnadozie to put the ball into an empty net, scoring Malawi's first-ever goal at a WAFCON tournament.
Tabitha Chawinga joined the party six minutes later. The same pattern recurred: another long ball from the back, this time from Sabina Thom, wasn't dealt with by Ohale or Demehin.
The Malawi captain had Nnadozie to beat, and that wasn't much of a task for her, as she doubled the lead in style.
Asisat Oshoala came on in the 83rd minute, replacing Esther Okoronkwo, who was far from impressive in Rabat.
The Super Falcons were handed a lifeline in the 89th minute after Rose Alufandika handled the ball in the box. Rasheedat Ajibade stepped up to take the resulting penalty, and the PSG midfielder slotted the penalty beyond Sikelo, who was rooted to the spot, but it was a little too late to spur a comeback.
Temwa Chawinga put the game beyond doubt in the 95th minute, in the same pattern as the first two were scored, and the 27-year-old was ecstatic as she made history on her WAFCON debut.
Still, the Green and Whites dug in. A long ball from the back was headed on and fell kindly to Uchenna Kanu who slipped the ball under Sikelo to grab a second for Nigeria.
FULL-TIME! 🇳🇬🇲🇼
Malawi get their first-ever win. #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2026 pic.twitter.com/GiWOkjnjZj
— CAF Women Football (@CAFwomen) July 28, 2026
The bigger picture: Zambia next for the Super Falcons
After falling to the theatrics of the Chawinga sisters, Justine Madugu's side prepare for a clash against Zambia on Saturday.
The Copper Queens house two deadly attackers in Racheal Kundananji and Barbra Banda, creating even more worries for the record Champions, considering there's a World Cup spot on the line.
However, the Super Falcons have the psychological advantage, as they put five past Zambia just under a year ago in the quarter-final of the WAFCON 2024.
