One name has become the toast of Cameroon following her heroics at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon). Some in the Central African nation are already calling for a statue to built in honour of Michaely Bihina after her incredible performances which have helped the Indomitable Lionesses return to the final for the first time since 2016. The young goalkeeper has been one of the stars of the tournament with player-of-the-match performances against Nigeria in the quarter-finals and hosts Morocco in the last four.
"I'm very happy and full of emotions because for our generation it's the first time to play the final," she told the BBC World Service after saving four penalties, one in extra time and three in the subsequent shootout, in Wednesday's semi-final win over the Moroccans. "We thank all the people who support us." The 22-year-old made nine saves against Nigeria, setting the record for the most in a single match at the finals as Cameroon dethroned the defending champions - a victory which also booked their place at the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup. Bihina described it as "a great day for Cameroonian football".
"Playing in my first Wafcon and being able to beat Nigeria and qualify for the World Cup is historic," she told the Confederation of African Football (Caf). "I am so excited and happy that as a team we have achieved this. "We had an objective - to change the history of our national team against Nigeria." Cameroon have previously lost three Wafcon finals - all against Nigeria (2004, 2014 and 2016) - but will now face debutants Malawi for the continental crown on Sunday ( ).
Bihina has been at the heart of the Indomitable Lionesses' challenge, with three clean sheets in five matches. A tense semi-final against Morocco saw few clear-cut chances in Rabat before the game went into extra time. Bihina was presented with her chance to shine late on when the Atlas Lionesses were awarded a penalty after Cameroon defender Maryam Nyadjou caught Sakina Ouzraoui in the face with her arm.
Fatima Tagnaout stepped up to take the 118th-minute spot kick, but Bihina dived to her right to push the ball away and send the tie to a shootout. "When I saved the first penalty during the game, I said inside my mind if we go to penalties I think I can do more," Bihina said. "I have to catch minimum three penalties." The Benfica keeper was as good as her word as she kept out efforts from Kenza Chapelle, Maryame Atiq and Ouzraoui to help her team to a 3-1 win.
"I studied the penalties of Morocco girls during all the competition," she revealed afterwards. Bihina is widely considered as a contender for player of the tournament alongside Malawi's Chawinga sisters Tabitha and Temwa. Younger sibling Temwa leads the goalscoring charts with five goals and two assists, while Temwa has four goals.
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