Nigeria are not entering Group C to discover how far they can go.
They are here to win again.
The Super Falcons lifted the most recent Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, have won the title ten times and have appeared in every official edition of the tournament. They begin as favourites ahead of Zambia, Malawi and Egypt, but that does not make the group a formality.
Zambia have enough quality to challenge them for first place. Malawi make their debut with two of Africa’s most recognisable forwards. Egypt start some distance behind after entering the tournament through its expansion to sixteen teams.
The group brings together the champions, a genuine title contender, a debutant side with dangerous attacking talent and a team that had originally been eliminated on the pitch.
Nigeria return with almost everything intact
Nigeria reclaimed the title in 2024 after South Africa had taken the crown from them two years earlier.
Justine Madugu has retained much of the title-winning side. Chiamaka Nnadozie remains in goal; Rasheedat Ajibade, named the best player at the previous edition, continues as captain; and the squad again includes Asisat Oshoala, Esther Okoronkwo and Jennifer Echegini.
Few African teams can match their depth, experience and familiarity with handling the pressure of being expected to win.
Nigeria qualified by defeating Benin 3-1 on aggregate. They won 0-2 in the first leg before drawing the second 1-1.
The Super Falcons do not need to dominate every match to win it. They have enough options to change a game from the bench, protect a lead or survive when they are not in control. That ability makes them particularly difficult to eliminate in a short tournament.
Zambia no longer want to be the alternative
The clearest threat to Nigeria comes from Zambia.
The Copper Queens finished third in 2022 after beating Nigeria in the bronze-medal match. At the following edition, the Super Falcons gained revenge by eliminating them in the quarter-finals.
They meet again now, but Zambia can no longer be described merely as an emerging side.
They have appeared at two Olympic Games, competed at the 2023 World Cup and can call upon Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, a partnership capable of transforming any match when given space to run into.
Kundananji scored four goals in the qualifying tie against Namibia: three in the 2-4 first-leg victory and another in the 3-0 second leg. Banda had already returned in April, at the FIFA Series in Brazil, after recovering from the hip injury she sustained in August 2025.
There has also been a change in the dugout. Swiss coach Nora Häuptle took charge in 2025 after managing Ghana and was already on the bench for the quarter-final Nigeria won last year. Her task is to bring greater structure to a side whose attacking quality has never been in doubt.
The Copper Queens have already shown that they can compete with the best. They now need to prove that they can maintain that level throughout an entire tournament.
Their meeting with Nigeria on 1 August could decide first place.
Malawi make their debut with two forwards who are not debutants
Malawi have never previously competed at a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Scorchers qualified after drawing 0-0 in Angola and winning the second leg 2-0. Faith Chinzimu scored both goals that took the country to the tournament for the first time. She did so in the absence of the injured Temwa Chawinga, with Tabitha part of that qualifying tie.
Both sisters will be in Morocco.
Tabitha has built her career across Sweden, China, Italy and France. Temwa was the NWSL’s leading scorer and most valuable player in 2024, and retained the MVP award in 2025 — the first player in the league’s history to do so. Both have been included in Lovemore Fazili’s final squad.
Their presence makes Malawi an unusual debutant.
It does not make the Scorchers favourites to finish above Nigeria or Zambia. The step up in level will be enormous and the team will have to hold out without the ball for long periods. But no opponent will be able to leave them space without taking a significant risk.
Malawi do not depend entirely on the sisters. Chinzimu already showed her importance during qualifying, while several members of the squad helped the country win their first COSAFA Women’s Championship title in 2023.
Even so, Tabitha and Temwa change the way every opponent must prepare for Malawi. Few debutants have arrived at a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations with an attacking partnership of that quality.
Egypt enter after initially being eliminated
Egypt lost both matches of their qualifying tie against Ghana.
They were beaten 0-3 in Ismailia and 4-0 in Accra. The 7-0 aggregate defeat eliminated them from the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on the pitch.
Eight days after qualifying had ended, CAF expanded the tournament from twelve to sixteen teams. With the ties already completed, the four additional places were awarded to the eliminated sides ranked highest by FIFA.
Egypt, then ranked 95th in the world, took the last of them, behind Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Mali.
Their return does not alter the group’s initial hierarchy.
Mohamed Kamal’s side will need to show a very different version of themselves from the one comprehensively beaten by Ghana. Their opening match against Zambia will immediately measure the gap between Egypt and one of the tournament’s leading contenders.
On paper, their best opportunity comes four days later against Malawi. By then, defeat on the opening matchday may already have left them with almost no margin for error.
First place matters
Nigeria and Zambia are the favourites to claim the group’s two quarter-final places.
The order is not insignificant. The Group C winners will face the runners-up from Group D, while the second-placed side will meet the team that tops a section in which Ghana and Cameroon begin ahead of Mali and Cape Verde.
The expansion does not create places for the best third-placed teams. Only two sides advance from each group.
Nigeria begin against Malawi, and Zambia face Egypt on 28 July. The two favourites meet on 1 August. On the final matchday, 5 August, Nigeria play Egypt while Zambia close the group against Malawi.
Group C begins with a clear champion.
It must now determine whether Zambia are ready to challenge Nigeria for more than a single match, and whether the Chawinga sisters can turn Malawi’s debut into much more than a first appearance.