Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored a deflected equalizer and set up the go-ahead goal as Malawi beat Ghana 2-1 in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals, a result that sent the Scorchers into the semifinals and, with it, into their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup. The victory guarantees Malawi a spot at the 2027 tournament in Brazil, a milestone for a program that was ranked 153rd in the world and had once been unable to even field a team for the previous WAFCON qualifying cycle.
Ghana struck first, scoring in the seventh minute, but Chawinga answered five minutes later with an equalizer that deflected in off a long shot, according to The Kansas City Star. The goal came in the 12th minute. Chawinga then turned provider in the 79th minute, setting up Rose Kadzere from the right wing for what became the eventual game-winning goal for Malawi, according to the same account.
The win pushed Malawi past Ghana, which now heads into the World Cup inter-confederation playoffs in November 2026 alongside South Africa, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Malawi, meanwhile, secured one of the four automatic African berths reserved for the WAFCON semifinalists, joining Morocco, Algeria and Cameroon in clinching a spot in Brazil under the qualification format detailed by Herfootball.org. Brazil, as tournament host, has already qualified automatically for the 32-team field.
A Deflection With Deeper Meaning
Chawinga dedicated her equalizer to injured teammate Sabinah Thom, who was hurt in Malawi's final group-stage match against Zambia, per the Star's report. The moment underscored just how far this Malawi squad has come this tournament: the Scorchers opened the competition by upsetting Nigeria — a 10-time WAFCON champion — 3-2 in their first group match, then reached the quarterfinals in what was their first-ever appearance in the tournament.
Through the run, Chawinga has piled up four goals and two assists, putting her tied for second in the tournament in goals and tied for first overall in goal contributions. Her sister, Tabitha Chawinga, a forward for French club OL Lyonnes, has contributed two goals of her own in Malawi's campaign. The sisters are connected through Malawi's national team and their Wuhan history before becoming co-leaders of Malawi's attack. Fellow Scorcher Faith Chinzimu, who plays club soccer for BK Häcken FF, and Kadzere, who plays for Montpellier, round out a roster stocked with players competing across European leagues.
From Financial Withdrawal to World Cup Berth
Malawi's breakthrough carries extra weight given how recently the program was on the outside looking in. The Football Association of Malawi had withdrawn the national team from qualifying for the 2024 WAFCON due to financial constraints, according to reporting from The Cutback. The team had also not entered tournaments between 2014 and 2018.
Malawi's rise didn't start with this WAFCON run, either. The Scorchers won their first-ever major international trophy at the 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship, where Chawinga scored nine goals to claim both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball, and Malawi beat defending champions Zambia 2-1 in the final, according to COSAFA. A planned meeting with Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera followed that championship. Notably, Chawinga last played for the Scorchers before this tournament in February 2025.
Elite Form Carries Over From Kansas City
None of this comes as a surprise to Kansas City Current fans who have watched Chawinga terrorize NWSL defenses in a Kansas City Current uniform. She set the NWSL single-season goalscoring record with 20 regular-season goals that year and became the first Current player to win the league's MVP award. In November 2025, she won her second consecutive NWSL Golden Boot with 15 regular-season goals, becoming only the second player in league history — alongside Sam Kerr — to win the scoring title in back-to-back seasons, per the Kansas City Current.
Her scoring pace has been historic on multiple fronts. In August 2025, Chawinga became the fastest player in NWSL history to reach 30 regular-season career goals, doing it in 40 games — 11 fewer games than any other player. Going back further, Forbes reported that IFFHS rankings named Chawinga the world's top female goalscorer for the 2023 calendar year, with 63 total goals across club and international play — 51 for Wuhan Jianghan and 12 for Malawi.
What's Next for Malawi
Malawi will face Algeria in the WAFCON semifinals on Wednesday at noon Central time in Morocco. The winner advances to the final to face whoever emerges from the Morocco-Cameroon semifinal, while the losers of both semifinals will meet in a third-place match. The Kansas City Current also has other players — Lorena, Debinha, Michelle Cooper and Croix Bethune — who could represent their home countries at the 2027 World Cup, giving the club a broader stake in the tournament beyond Chawinga's story.
According to Inside FIFA, the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada set a total attendance record of 1,353,506 for a FIFA competition other than the FIFA World Cup™.
Regardless of how the semifinal unfolds, Malawi has already locked in a place in history: its first-ever appearance at a FIFA Women's World Cup, set for Brazil in 2027. It stands in contrast to the Malawi men's team, which has never qualified for a men's World Cup and last reached the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 back in 2021 across three total tournament appearances. For now, a Kansas City Current post captured the moment succinctly: “Make that 4 goals for Temwa!!!!!!!”
