Historique: Malawi makes first quarter‑final, Nigeria takes second

Historique: Malawi have qualified for the quarter‑finals of the competition for the first time in their history, while Nigeria secured the second ticket after a dramatic conclusion to Group C on Wednesday evening. The outcome came after penalty‑filled matches and a CAF recalculation that removed Egypt’s results.

The group stage of Groupe C delivered its verdict on Wednesday night, a fixture that had been billed as the ‘death group’ with all three sides still in contention until the final whistle.

Nigeria overwhelmed Egypt in a match dominated by penalties, winning 2‑6 after the shoot‑out. The Super Falcons converted three spot‑kicks, while the Egyptian side, known as Les Cleopatra, failed to match the tally.

Malawi’s campaign ended with a 1‑2 loss to Zambie. Barbra Banda opened the scoring in the second minute, Prisca Chilufya added a second before half‑time, and Tabitha Chawinga pulled one back in the 72nd minute, but the Flames could not equalise.

Because three teams finished on six points after the third round, CAF applied the head‑to‑head rule and removed the results against Egypt. This recalculation disadvantaged the Copper Queens, who had scored six goals against the Cleopatra, but ultimately promoted Malawi and Nigeria.

Zambie were eliminated despite having the best overall goal difference, as the tie‑breaker looked at goals scored in the mini‑championship without Egypt. Malawi recorded four goals, Nigeria three, and Zambie only two, sealing the final ranking.

Nigeria entered the group unbeaten, suffered a narrow 2‑3 defeat to Malawi, then beat Zambie 1‑0 before the decisive win over Egypt, confirming their status as the reigning African champions.