Where the 2024 Wafcon saw few upsets, this tournament provided greater competitiveness and several shock results.
Tanzania bridged a gap of 65 places in the world rankings to upset South Africa in the group stage and the 2022 champions then needed a 99th-minute equaliser to salvage a point against Ivory Coast.
Debutants Malawi were the fairy tale story, upsetting 10-time champions Nigeria with a 3-2 win in their opener before seeing off Ghana and Algeria to reach the final.
Their success was built on the attacking prowess of the Chawinga sisters, but the Scorchers will certainly climb from 153rd in the world – and 32nd in Africa – when Fifa updates its rankings.
Zambia were unfortunate not to reach the knockout stage despite amassing six points in Group C, while Mali were eliminated on goal difference after finishing level with Ghana on four points in Group D.
Cape Verde, Egypt and Kenya were the only sides not to win a game, with the North Africans conceding 15 goals and the Harambee Starlets failing to find the back of the net.
There were 90 goals scored in 32 games (excluding the two Women’s World Cup play-offs) with the average of 2.81 goals per game an increase on the average of 2.54 from the 2024 edition.
