Malawi secures first Women's World Cup qualification, Nigeria could have first-ever miss

Malawi is headed to the Women’s World Cup for the first time ever, clinching the last of four spots guaranteed to African nations thanks to a 2-1 win over Ghana in the Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) quarterfinals.

While Malawi and Algeria are set to debut in the competition after WAFCON wins, Nigeria’s streak of making every WWC since the tournament began in 1991 is at risk of being snapped.

The Indomitable Lionesses fell 1-0 to Cameroon in their quarterfinal in Casablanca with Maéva Nyadjou scoring a first-half goal and Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina made nine saves to deny Nigeria a place in the WAFCON semifinals.

It is the first time in the competition’s history Nigeria won’t take one of the semifinal places, but the team is likely more concerned about a perilous situation to reach the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Earlier in the weekend, Algeria beat the Ivory Coast to book its first place in the Women’s World Cup and Morocco held off 2023 qualifiers South Africa.

Nigeria must win an Aug. 13 play-in match against South Africa to reach the inter-continental playoff. Once there, the African winners will need to finish in the top two of a six-team group to make it to the final phase, which will consist of a one-off match for a place in Brazil.

The Ivory Coast and Ghana meet in the other playoff.

Malawi avoided the doubt of a playoff by rallying for a 2-1 win against Ghana. Kansas City Current star Temwa Chaŵinga scored her fourth goal of the tournament, while Rose Kadzere scored the winner.

While Malawi won a group that also included Nigeria and Zambia and is able to deploy Chaŵinga and her sister, Tabitha, it still was a surprise for the Scorchers to top Ghana. Malawi is ranked 153 in FIFA’s rankings while Ghana sits 60th. This WAFCON tournament is the first major tournament for which Malawi has qualified.

Malawi now meets Algeria in the WAFCON semifinal while Morocco plays Cameroon.

The field for the Women’s World Cup is taking shape, with the guaranteed places for Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania now filled. Concacaf qualification will take place in late November, with the winners of the W Championship quarterfinals clinching their places in the tournament.

European qualification is set to resume in October, though UEFA’s threatened boycott of FIFA competitions because of president Gianni Infantino’s plan to introduce private investment into the World Cup has produced some doubt about the process and whether teams from Europe will take part.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Malawi secures first Women’s World Cup qualification, Nigeria could have first-ever miss