Häuptle Questions CAF Rules After Zambia’s WAFCON Exit Despite Six Points

Zambia head coach Nora Häuptle has questioned the Confederation of African Football (CAF) tie-breaking regulations after the Copper Queens were eliminated from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) despite collecting six points in the group stage.

Zambia finished level on six points with Nigeria and Malawi, but missed out on a place in the quarter-finals after the final group standings were determined by the head-to-head rule.

The elimination came despite Zambia producing an impressive attacking and defensive record throughout the group stage, leaving Häuptle frustrated by the outcome.

Speaking to Lusaka Times, the Swiss coach expressed her disbelief at the regulations that ultimately sent her team out of the tournament.

“We scored the most goals in this group, and we conceded the least goals,” Häuptle said.

“Sometimes I’m not sure if we do the right things with this kind of regulations because it feels completely weird that we are out.”

Zambia’s early exit has reignited debate over CAF’s tie-breaking criteria, particularly whether overall goal difference should carry greater weight than head-to-head results when teams finish level on points.

For the Copper Queens, however, the regulations proved decisive, ending their WAFCON campaign despite a strong group-stage performance.