Cameroon beats Malawi 3-0 to win Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Three goals for three lost finals.

Cameroon finally won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over tournament debutant Malawi.

Marie Ngah Manga headed two goals and Naomi Eto scored the other while Cameroon kept Malawi’s Chawinga sisters in check to claim its first win in the final at the fourth attempt.

The Indomitable Lionesses, who failed to qualify for the previous edition of the tournament, had lost on their last three appearances in the final – all to 10-time winner Nigeria.

“I feel like it’s a dream because you know Cameroon have been working hard to have this moment and today for us to be champion of Africa is a very, very wonderful thing,” Ngah Manga said.

FIFA's under-fire president, Gianni Infantino, attended the game along with CAF President Patrice Motsepe.

Infantino later helped Motsepe hand out medals to the top three teams. Algeria defeated Morocco in the third-place decider on Saturday.

Infantino also posed with Motsepe and Samuel Eto’o, the president of the Cameroon Football Federation, for a photo with Cameroon forward Monique Ngock after she received the player of the tournament trophy.

Malawi made the better start but suffered a double blow when Ngah Manga headed the opener from close range in the 21st minute, shortly before Eto – who had her back to goal – turned brilliantly to send the ball inside the right post.

Eto was also involved in the first goal, forcing a save from Malawi goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo before Ngah Manga scored.

Malawi failed to muster a response and Ngah Manga effectively sealed the result on a break when Eto got to the ball before Sikelo and produced a perfect cross for her teammate to head her second goal of the game and fifth overall in the tournament.

Cameroon substitutes ran onto the field to celebrate with their teammates.

The Chawinga sisters had pushed Malawi after the break. Tabitha Chawinga felt she should have had a penalty, but a VAR check deemed otherwise. Then she drew a good save from Michaely Bihina, and her sister Temwa went close from the rebound.

Cameroon veteran Gabrielle Aboudi Onguéné went on in stoppage time and duly scored, only to have the goal ruled out for offside. The 37-year-old Onguéné was part of the Cameroon team that lost the final at home to Nigeria in 2016. Despite her disallowed goal, this time she could celebrate.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Cameroon's Naomi Leslie Ndjoah Eto, right, celebrates after scoring her team's second goal against Malawi during the Women AFCON 2026 final soccer match, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Cameroon's women soccer team poses for a photo ahead of their final match against Malawi during the Women AFCON 2026, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Malawi's women soccer team poses for a photo ahead of their final match against Cameroon during the Women AFCON 2026, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

FIFA president Gianni Infantino attends the Women AFCON 2026 final soccer match between Cameroon and Malawi, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Cameroon's Marie Ngah celebrates after scoring her team's third goal against Malawi during the Women AFCON 2026 final soccer match, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Cameroon's Marie Ngah celebrates after scoring her team's third goal against Malawi during the Women AFCON 2026 final soccer match, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon on Sunday to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea after the Republican president said South Korea declined to help denuclearize Iran.

Trump said in a social media post that the exercises slated to begin this week are costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” while Trump has been in the White House.

“Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” Trump wrote.

The 11 days of exercises involving 18,000 South Korean soldiers were designed to beef up readiness against North Korean threats.

U.S. and South Korean forces were expected to practice joint operations in complex scenarios, including a live-fire exercise to test joint precision targeting and maneuver, a wet gap crossing, and distribution of prepositioned military equipment, according to the U.S. military.

A day earlier, Trump posted a photo of himself standing next to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, writing that the two leaders get along great “despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture.”

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has called the U.S.-South Korean training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that is triggering a different level of instability in the region.

Trump met with the reclusive North Korean leader three times during his first term to discuss the country’s nuclear program, most recently in 2019. Since returning to office, Trump has expressed interest in continuing those discussions.

This is not the first time that Trump has sought to end the exercises. During his first term he also issued a surprise announcement that called the wargames “provocative.”

“We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should,” Trump told reporters after his 2018 meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Airport, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Morristown, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)