Malawi Under-17 Girls National Football Team yesterday made history after qualifying for the Cosafa Under-17 Girls Championship final for the first time with a 1-0 triumph over Mozambique in the semi-final in Windhoek, Namibia.
Talandira Kachala struck the priceless goal with a long-range strike five minute to time.
This means Malawi face defending champions, Zambia, who beat Zimbabwe 5-1 in the other semi-final.
Malawi last played Zambia at the competition in their debut appearance in 2022 when they lost 3-1 in the semi-final on post-match penalties after a two-all draw in regulation time.
In yesterday’s match, Malawi and Mozambique engaged in a thrilling end-to-end action that could have gone either way, but Kachala’s late winner made the difference.
The first-half ended 0-0 with both sides showing serious intention to break the deadlock. However, finishing appeared to be a problem on both ends as they struggled to unlock opposition’s defence.
Malawi coach Chisomo Nkhoma made some changes deep in the second half, introducing Tryness Chawala and Tamandani Chilimba for Ethel Tambala and Alinafe Nyirenda, respectively. This was the turning point for the side as, thereafter, they launched several attacks one of which led to the lone goal.
Although she did not score yesterday, Malawi midfielder Faluna Umali was named player-of-the-match. She is third on the scorers’ chart with four goals, three behind leading scorer Namibian Nancy Lebang.
Malawi got into the semi-finals as favourites after two-straight emphatic victories in the group stages. They thumped hosts Namibia 3-0 in their opener before thrashing Comoros 6-0 in their final group match.
Malawi and Zambia were the only teams that won all their group matches in the nine-team competition.
As for Mozambique, they sailed through to the semis as best runners-up across the three groups. They made history after registering the tournament’s biggest victory following an 11-0 thrashing of Mauritius in their last Group B match.
Malawi were playing in the semi-finals for the second time, having last played in their debut appearance in 2022 when they ended up winning bronze as hosts.
They did not enter the first three editions and the tournament was not played in 2023.
In the 2024 edition, Malawi failed to go past the group stages after losing by 2-4 margins to South Africa and Madagascar before beating Namibia 6-1.
