WAFCON 2026 Preview: Favourites, underdogs and predictions
The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is returning for a third consecutive edition in Morocco, this time with an expanded field of 16 teams and spots at the 2027 World Cup on offer.
The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) is back again, returning to Morocco for the second consecutive year thanks to the Confederation of African Football’s novel administration style.
The 2024 WAFCON was delayed by 19 months to avoid clashes with the Paris Olympic Games, and saw Nigeria dramatically triumph over the hosts last year. In true CAF fashion, this year’s tournament was also delayed, as the confederation postponed WAFCON 2026 just 12 days before it was originally scheduled to kick off in March – this time blaming “certain unforeseen circumstances” and refusing to elaborate further.
CAF has also made sure that qualification for the tournament was just as disorganised. Only 11 teams qualified for the 2026 WAFCON to join hosts Morocco, but CAF later amended the tournament to ensure the four highest-ranked teams that didn’t qualify were later added to make it a 16-team competition.
As a result, African giants Egypt have made the tournament despite being thrashed 7-0 by Ghana in the second round of the qualifiers, while DR Congo will be watching from home after narrowly losing out to 2022 champions South Africa.
Putting all of that nonsense and noise aside, the biggest-ever WAFCON is set to be an exciting festival of football. There will be four guaranteed spots at the next World Cup for the semi-finalists, as well as inter-confederation play-off places for two of the losing quarter-finalists. Along with the tournament’s grand prize itself, the 2026 WAFCON promises drama and jeopardy throughout.
Favourites
Ten-time champions Nigeria are perennially the team to beat. Though they have been tested more sternly in recent years, the Super Falcons’ winning mentality has remained unshakeable, winning four of the last five WAFCON tournaments.
Manager Justin Madugu will be looking to secure back-to-back trophies after he guided Nigeria to victory last year, and is relying on the experience of that squad to repeat the trick. The 62-year-old has selected every player that featured in the 2025 final, save for the injured Ashleigh Plumptre.
Nigeria’s main rivals Morocco will be hoping for better luck after back-to-back final heartbreaks in 2022 and 2025. The Atlas Lionesses were sunk by a late Jennifer Echegini goal in last year’s final against Nigeria but, like their rivals, have selected the same core squad that played in that game.
After two consecutive final defeats on home soil and with many of the squad pushing into their 30s, Morocco’s players will be under serious pressure as some seek to take their last chance of lifting a major trophy. If the 2026 tournament plays out to form, we could see a rematch with the Super Falcons in the final, where 35-year-old Moroccan captain Ghizlane Chebbak hopes to cap a historic international career with a WAFCON title and, potentially, a third Golden Boot.
Continuity is also the name of the game for South Africa, who will complete a full decade under veteran manager Desiree Ellis later this year. Ellis is a legendary figure for Banyana Banyana, having led them to their first ever World Cup before delivering an elusive first WAFCON title in 2022.
Her squad is bolstered by the return of star striker Thembi Kgatlana, who has missed the last two WAFCONs through injury and family reasons. Her return will give Banyana Banyana much-needed firepower.
Underdogs
Zambia are the only African team to have qualified for every major international tournament in the 2020s. Drawn in a tough group with Nigeria, Egypt and Malawi, the Copper Queens will need to bring their A-game from the start if they are to keep their streak going. Head coach Nora Häuptle’s remit will involve papering over the cracks of a relatively weak defence while making the most of a star-studded front line.
Ghana will aim to at least match what they achieved last year, as another semi-final run will end a 20-year absence from the Women’s World Cup. The Black Queens are the opposite to Zambia – they possess a cohesive unit that lacks a sprinkle of stardust at the sharp end, but certainly have it in them to trouble the top seeds.
Algeria are a classically trained North African side, focused on defending as a team. The Fennecs didn’t concede a single goal across last year’s WAFCON, only losing out on penalties in the quarter-final against Ghana. That game took defensive dark arts to new realms, ending 0-0 with a total of four shots on target and a staggering 50 fouls over the 120 minutes of play.
Algeria will need to come out of their shell a little more if they are to go one better this time around, as a semi-final berth would secure their first-ever trip to a Women’s World Cup.
Côte d’Ivoire might not be expecting much, having only made it to the tournament thanks to its expansion, but they have been gifted a group from which qualification to the knockouts is a real possibility. They also have an exciting blend of youth and elite experience in their squad, with former Lyon and Morocco coach Reynald Pedros in charge.
Outsiders
Despite appearing in the knockouts last year, Mali only made it to this WAFCON thanks to the 16-team expansion. They have some noteworthy talent in their ranks and can be a solid side on their day, giving them an outside chance of a semi-final spot.
Once powerhouses in African football, three-time finalists Cameroon also needed a back-door invitation to enter the tournament after losing out to Algeria in the qualifiers. The Indomitable Lionesses have fallen some way off the top, but should be targeting a knockout run at minimum.
The only remaining team out of the four late additions is Egypt, who will make their third WAFCON appearance and first in a decade. There have been some promising developments in their domestic scene in recent years, but how much of that translates to the national team remains to be seen.
Kenya and Tanzania have been producing some eye-catching results at youth level in recent years, with Kenya’s under-17s recently qualifying for a second consecutive World Cup in Morocco. They will co-host the men’s AFCON next year (alongside Uganda) and have expressed some interest in hosting WAFCON individually. Some good performances here could build momentum for 2028 bids.
Senegal have featured in the quarter-finals of both previous WAFCONs in Morocco, but they will face a tougher challenge this year as the higher-seeded Morocco and Algeria are both in their group. Mame Moussa Cissé’s side shouldn’t be written off, though, as they have proven they can cause an upset on their day.
Malawi will finally make their long-awaited WAFCON debut this year. The lowest-ranked team at the tournament will be no pushovers as the superstar sisterly duo of Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga will be supported by some very promising youngsters.
Cabo Verde are the only other debutantes in this field. Between their win over Mali in the qualifiers and the men’s team’s historic World Cup run, Cabo Verdean hopes might be relatively high coming into the tournament. Drawn in a group with Mali, Ghana and Cameroon, they could aim to stage another shock or two.
Last but not least, Burkina Faso are back for their second WAFCON appearance. Having held the likes of Morocco and Mali to draws in recent friendlies, they might be confident of registering a first win in a group with Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa.
Predictions
A repeat of last year’s semi-finals — Morocco vs Ghana and South Africa vs Nigeria — is on the cards if all four teams win their groups. They should all be backed to make it, though one of the four late entrants could steal an inter-confederation play-off spot for the World Cup.
From there on, a continued repeat of WAFCON 2025 seems likely. Nigeria’s performance levels took some time to warm up and they will want to progress in a more straightforward manner than last year. On the other hand, Morocco will be desperate to finally reach the top of the mountain.
Either way, a cracking end to the tournament should be in store for viewers in Rabat, Casablanca and all around the world.
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