Banda and Chawinga Lead Golden Boot Race Early On

Zambia's captain Barbra Banda and Malawi's forward Temwa Chawinga are leading the race for the Golden Boot at the ongoing 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Both players made a big impact in their countries' first group matches.

Banda is at the top of the scoring list with four goals and one assist. She helped Zambia crush Egypt 6-0 in their Group C opener at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat.

The Orlando Pride forward played a huge part in five of Zambia’s six goals. She started strong when Racheal Nachula scored a penalty that Banda earned after being fouled in the box. In the second half, Banda scored a penalty herself in the sixtieth minute. She then headed in a cross just three minutes later and completed her hat-trick from a scramble in front of the goal. Banda added a fourth goal late in the game from a cross by Racheal Kundananji. Eneless Phiri rounded off the scoring with a fifth goal in stoppage time.

Chawinga also made headlines by scoring a hat-trick. Her goals helped Malawi stun Nigeria, the ten-time champions, with a 3-2 win in a thrilling Group C match.

The Kansas City Current forward, who won the National Women’s Soccer League’s Most Valuable Player award twice, scored Malawi’s first-ever goal in the finals. She finished her hat-trick with a dramatic stoppage-time winner.

Even though they lead the scoring chart, both Chawinga and Banda could not find the net in their second group matches.

Cameroon’s Marie Ngah Manga is also in the Golden Boot race with three goals and no assists.

In other tournament news, the host nation Morocco has started strongly in Group A. They won both of their opening matches without conceding a goal, beating Kenya 4-0 and Algeria 1-0. This makes them the first team to reach the quarter-finals.

Morocco captain Ghizlane Chebbak is looking to win the Golden Boot for the third time. She hopes to lead the Atlas Lionesses to their first title at home, after finishing as runners-up in the last two editions.

The record for the most goals scored by a single player in one tournament is 11. This record was set by Nigeria’s Perpetua Nkwocha in 2010 and has stood for 16 years.