By Femi Atolagbe
Cameroon reached their fourth TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final on Wednesday after defeating hosts, Morocco 3-1 on penalties following a tense goalless semi-final at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat.
The Indomitable Lionesses held their nerve in the shoot-out after 120 minutes failed to produce a goal, setting up a final against debutants Malawi, who earlier stunned Algeria 3-1 at the same venue.
Cameroon converted three of their four penalties through Marie Ngah, Rose Bella and Myriam Nyadjou, while Morocco managed just one successful effort, scored by Hanane Aït El Haj.
Kenza Chapelle, Meryem Atiq and Sakina Ouzraoui all missed from the spot for the Atlas Lionesses, ending Morocco’s hopes of reaching the continental final for a third successive edition.
Morocco had been handed a golden opportunity to settle the contest in extra time, but Fatima Tagnaout missed a penalty, allowing Cameroon to survive and eventually prevail in the shoot-out.
The victory caps another impressive knockout run for Cameroon, who eliminated defending champions Nigeria 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, Malawi continued their remarkable debut campaign with a 3-1 victory over Algeria to reach their first-ever WAFCON final.
The Chawinga sisters once again proved decisive, with captain Tabitha Chawinga and her sister, Temwa, scoring all three goals to send the Scorchers into the continental showpiece.
Algeria’s task became more difficult early in the match when Morgane Belkhiter was sent off, reducing the North Africans to 10 players.
Malawi took advantage in the 33rd minute when Tabitha Chawinga produced a moment of individual brilliance, directing an acrobatic effort onto the crossbar and into the net.
Temwa doubled Malawi’s advantage shortly before half-time, showing composure inside the area to round the goalkeeper after being played through before calmly finishing into an empty net.
The Scorchers started the second half on the front foot and almost extended their lead in the 51st minute when Temwa burst past three defenders with her trademark pace, but her effort went wide.
Algeria pulled a goal back in the 60th minute. Marine Dafeur’s dangerous free-kick caused confusion in the Malawi penalty area, with Ikram Adjabi reacting quickest to a loose ball and volleying home to make it 2-1.
But Malawi restored their two-goal cushion through Tabitha, who beat her marker before driving a left-footed effort into the net to complete her brace.
Algeria came close to reducing the deficit again in the 87th minute when substitute, Laura Muller, rounded the goalkeeper, but her delayed finish allowed recovering defenders to intervene.
Malawi held firm through the closing stages to secure a historic 3-1 win and book their place in the final on their tournament debut.
The final will therefore pit Cameroon’s experience against Malawi’s remarkable rise, with the Scorchers bidding to crown their fairytale campaign by lifting the continental title in their first appearance at the tournament.
Meanwhile, Morocco will face Algeria in the third-place play-off after both sides suffered semi-final defeats.