The quarter-final line-up for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) has been confirmed, with eight teams remaining in contention for the continental title and four places at next year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup.
The group stage concluded on Thursday, completing a last-eight line-up featuring hosts Morocco, defending champions Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Côte d’Ivoire and Algeria.
The quarter-finals will be played on 8 and 9 August in Casablanca and Rabat, with the winners progressing to the semi-finals and securing automatic qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Hosts Morocco reached the knockout stage unbeaten and will face South Africa in one of the biggest ties of the round.
Morocco topped Group A, while Algeria finished second after the two sides emerged from a group that also included Senegal and Kenya.
Côte d’Ivoire were the winners of Group B after an unbeaten campaign and will meet Algeria in the quarter-finals. South Africa secured the other qualification place from the group.
In Group C, Malawi produced one of the tournament’s biggest surprises by finishing top. They defeated defending champions Nigeria and also beat Egypt to establish themselves as one of the teams to watch in the knockout stage.
Nigeria recovered from their opening defeat by beating Zambia before recording an emphatic 6-2 victory over Egypt. The defending champions finished second and will face Cameroon in the quarter-finals.
Cameroon had already secured their place in the last eight before their final Group D fixture against Cape Verde, which ended 1-1.
Ghana joined Cameroon in qualifying from the group after also drawing 1-1 with Mali.
The results have produced four intriguing quarter-final ties:
Date Quarter-final Venue Time
Saturday, 8 August Côte d’Ivoire vs Algeria Casablanca 18:00 WAT
Saturday, 8 August Morocco vs South Africa Rabat 21:00 WAT
Sunday, 9 August Cameroon vs Nigeria Casablanca 18:00 WAT
Sunday, 9 August Malawi vs Ghana Rabat 21:00 WAT
The stakes extend beyond the WAFCON title, with the four semi-finalists also guaranteed places at the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
For Morocco, the challenge is to turn an unbeaten group campaign into a deep run on home soil. South Africa, meanwhile, will attempt to end the hosts’ title ambitions and move closer to another continental crown.
Côte d’Ivoire enter their meeting with Algeria having topped Group B, but Algeria have already shown during the competition that they are capable of challenging established opposition.
Nigeria face a difficult test against Cameroon as they attempt to defend the title they won at the previous tournament. Their recovery from the opening setback has added momentum to their campaign.
The meeting between Malawi and Ghana is another compelling contest, with Malawi carrying the confidence of a group-winning campaign and Ghana returning to the knockout stage after progressing from Group D.
The quarter-finals therefore bring together a mixture of established contenders and emerging forces, with every team now just three victories away from being crowned African champions.
