The Midweek Brief: 8/12/2026
Issue No. 4 | Malawi's Miracle, Europe's New Season, and the Limits of the Progressive Wave
The stories worth your time. Every Wednesday.
Welcome back to The Midweek Brief, OffTheRecord's weekly look at the stories shaping sports, politics, culture and everything in between.
This week, football has given us one of the most unexpected stories of the summer.
Malawi are going to the WAFCON final.
A nation that had never reached the knockout stages of the tournament has now reached the final, guaranteeing that the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations will crown a first-time champion.
Meanwhile, Europe is beginning another football season, Paris Saint-Germain continue collecting trophies, and the final stages of European qualification are underway.
In American politics, the progressive movement hit a small roadblock in Wisconsin just days after one of its biggest victories in Michigan.
So, let's get into it.
WAFCON: Malawi's Miracle Continues
If you told someone before this tournament that Malawi would reach the Women's Africa Cup of Nations final, they probably would have laughed.
Now, it's reality.
Malawi defeated Algeria 3–1 in the semifinal on Wednesday, August 12, completing one of the greatest runs in the tournament's history.
And once again, the Chawinga sisters were at the center of everything.
Tabitha Chawinga opened the scoring in the 33rd minute before her sister Temwa doubled Malawi's advantage deep into first-half stoppage time.
Suddenly, Malawi were 2–0 up.
But this semifinal was anything but comfortable.
Algeria had already been pushing throughout the match, and after Malawi's Rose Kadzere was sent off in the final minute of stoppage time, both teams entered the second half with ten players.
Algeria eventually found its breakthrough in the 60th minute.
2–1.
The game was alive again.
But Malawi had one more answer.
In the 76th minute, Tabitha Chawinga produced another spectacular finish, completing her brace and restoring Malawi's two-goal advantage.
Algeria couldn't find another way back.
3–1.
Full time.
Malawi are going to the final.
And the list of firsts is almost unbelievable.
This is Malawi's:
First WAFCON appearance
First WAFCON knockout-stage appearance
First qualification for the Women's World Cup
First WAFCON final
All of it has happened in one tournament.
The Chawinga sisters have become the faces of a team that has gone from outsider to finalist in the space of a few weeks.
For Malawian football supporters, this isn't simply a tournament run.
It's history.
Cameroon End Morocco's Home Dream
Standing between Malawi and the trophy will be Cameroon.
And somehow, Cameroon reached the final through an entirely different kind of chaos.
Morocco entered the semifinal with home support behind them and controlled large portions of the match.
But they couldn't score.
Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina kept her team alive throughout the match, repeatedly denying Morocco and eventually forcing the game into penalties after a 0–0 draw.
Then came the shootout.
Morocco's first penalty went in, converted by Hanane Aït El Haj.
After that?
Disaster.
Bihina stopped the next three Moroccan penalties.
Cameroon won the shootout 3–1.
Morocco's home tournament is over.
Cameroon are in the final.
And suddenly, the WAFCON has produced a final that almost nobody predicted.
Malawi vs Cameroon.
No Nigeria.
No South Africa.
No Morocco.
None of the traditional favorites remain.
A first-time champion is guaranteed.
And that's what makes this tournament so special.
The Final Nobody Saw Coming
Malawi vs Cameroon
Sunday, August 16 — 3:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM UTC
The ranking difference is enormous.
Malawi entered the tournament ranked 153rd in the world.
Cameroon entered at 71st.
But rankings don't matter much anymore.
Malawi have already beaten the odds.
Cameroon have already survived one of the tournament's biggest challenges.
One of them will lift the trophy.
And for Malawi, there is something even bigger waiting beyond this final.
They have already secured their place at next year's Women's World Cup.
The Scorchers have gone from making their first appearance at this tournament to potentially becoming African champions.
Whatever happens Sunday, Malawi football has already changed forever.
PSG Continue Their European Reign
While Africa prepares for a historic WAFCON final, Europe has already handed us another trophy.
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the UEFA Super Cup, giving the Parisians their second consecutive Super Cup victory.
For years, PSG were criticized for their inability to turn domestic dominance into European success.
Now the narrative is beginning to look very different.
The trophies are coming.
The consistency is coming.
And PSG are beginning to look less like a club searching for European legitimacy and more like one establishing itself as a European power.
Aston Villa gave them a fight, but PSG ultimately walked away with another piece of silverware.
For everyone else in Europe, the message is pretty simple:
PSG aren't slowing down.
Europe Is Getting Ready for Another Season
The final round of European competition qualifying is now set, meaning clubs across the continent are one step away from securing their place in Europe's biggest competitions.
Some of the most interesting ties include:
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) vs Viking (NOR)
Fenerbahçe (TUR) vs Lyon (FRA)
Levski Sofia (BUL) vs AEK Athens (GRE)
Celtic (IRE) vs LASK (AUT)
Hapoel Be'er Sheva (ISR) vs Sabah FK (AZB)
NEC Nijmegen (NED) vs Bodø/Glimt (NOR)
Slovan Bratislava (SLK) vs NK Celje (SLO)
For the biggest clubs, European football is expected.
For these teams, it can define an entire season.
Qualification means more matches, more exposure and, perhaps most importantly, more money.
For some of these clubs, one successful qualifying campaign can completely change the trajectory of their season.
Politics: The Progressive Wave Hits a Wall
Last week, the progressive movement had one of its biggest victories in years.
This week, it hit a roadblock.
Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial primary ended in one of the closest races of the cycle.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly defeated Democratic socialist Francesca Hong for the Democratic nomination.
With 98% of the expected vote counted, Crowley led Hong 39.8% to 39.4%, according to the Associated Press.
Four-tenths of a percentage point.
That's it.
Crowley was helped by a late endorsement from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, and ultimately secured the nomination.
But calling this a decisive rejection of the progressive movement would be a mistake.
Hong came incredibly close.
And that is what makes this race worth watching.
Michigan vs. Wisconsin
Just one week ago, Michigan progressives were celebrating one of their biggest victories.
Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary.
Donovan McKinney defeated incumbent Democrat Shri Thanedar.
William Lawrence won the Democratic nomination for Michigan's 7th Congressional District.
Three major victories for the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party.
Then Wisconsin happened.
The contrast is fascinating.
Michigan demonstrated that progressive candidates can defeat establishment Democrats.
Wisconsin demonstrated that establishment Democrats can still survive — even when facing a well-organized progressive challenger.
The difference was razor thin.
And that's probably the most important part of this story.
The progressive movement isn't disappearing.
But neither is the Democratic establishment.
What Does This Mean for the Progressive Movement?
The easiest way to describe what happened would be:
“The progressive wave stalled.”
But I don't think that's quite right.
The more accurate conclusion is that the Democratic Party's internal battle is far from settled.
Michigan showed that progressives can win.
Wisconsin showed that they aren't guaranteed to win.
And the margins tell us something else.
Voters aren't necessarily divided between two completely different political worlds.
They're still deciding what kind of Democratic Party they want.
One side believes the party needs a more aggressive economic and social agenda.
The other believes Democrats need candidates who can appeal to a broader coalition and win competitive general elections.
That argument isn't going away.
And after Wisconsin, neither side has a definitive answer.
The Bigger Picture
That's what made this week interesting.
In Malawi, an underdog just eliminated one of Africa's traditional powers and reached a continental final.
In Cameroon, a goalkeeper became a national hero by stopping three penalties.
In Europe, PSG continue building their trophy cabinet while dozens of clubs fight for the chance to join the continent's biggest competitions.
And in American politics, a progressive candidate came within a few thousand votes of pulling off another major upset.
Different stories.
Different continents.
Different consequences.
But they share something.
The old order isn't always as stable as it looks.
Sometimes the favorites win.
Sometimes they don't.
Sometimes the underdog gets all the way to the final.
And sometimes the candidate everyone thought would lose finishes four-tenths of a point away from winning.
That's why we keep watching.
That's why we keep writing.
And that's why these stories matter.
The Midweek Brief
Malawi vs Cameroon.
Sunday.
3:00 PM ET.
A first-time WAFCON champion is guaranteed.
And somewhere between Malawi's miracle, PSG's continued rise and Wisconsin's razor-thin primary, this week's biggest lesson is pretty simple:
Never assume the outcome before the story is finished.
Until next Wednesday,
Theron Norrington
Founder & Editor, OffTheRecord
The stories worth your time. Every Wednesday.
Photo Credits
Photos: Confederation of African Football (CAF), Malawi Football Association, Cameroon Football Federation, Fédération Française de Football (FFF), UEFA, Paris Saint-Germain, Associated Press, Getty Images/AFP, and credited photographers where applicable.
All photographs remain the property of their respective copyright holders. OffTheRecord does not claim ownership of third-party imagery.
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