Women’s AFCON 2026 quarter-final line-up begins to take shape

The first two quarter-final fixtures at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations have been confirmed, with Cote d’Ivoire set to play Algeria and hosts Morocco drawn against South Africa.

Those matches will take place on Saturday, 8 August, as the tournament moves into its knockout phase. Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria will meet at 17:00 GMT, before Morocco face South Africa at 20:00 GMT.

The remaining two quarter-final ties will be decided after the final two group-stage matches, scheduled for Thursday. Nigeria already know they will be involved in the last eight but are still waiting to discover which team finishes top of Group D and will provide their opposition.

The other side to emerge from Group D will face Malawi in the second quarter-final on Sunday, 9 August. The identity of that opponent will also be settled when the group stage concludes.

The confirmed schedule is:

Saturday, 8 August

– Cote d’Ivoire v Algeria 17:00 GMT – Morocco v South Africa 20:00 GMT

Sunday, 9 August

– Group D winners v Nigeria 17:00 GMT – Malawi v Group D runners-up 20:00 GMT

Morocco, the host nation, will therefore continue its campaign against South Africa in one of Saturday’s headline fixtures. The earlier match between Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria will open the quarter-final programme.

Nigeria’s quarter-final is scheduled for 17:00 GMT on Sunday, although their opponents cannot yet be named. The winners of Group D will take that position, while the runners-up from the same group will be paired with Malawi in the later match at 20:00 GMT.

With two group-stage games still to be played, the tournament’s quarter-final picture is only partially complete. However, the first four teams confirmed in the knockout schedule are Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Morocco and South Africa, while Nigeria and Malawi have also been allocated quarter-final places.

The final two fixtures from Group D will determine the order of the remaining qualifiers and complete the quarter-final line-up. Until those matches are played on Thursday, Nigeria’s opponents and the team that will meet Malawi remain undecided.