When Malawi arrived at the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals in Morocco, the possibility of securing a place at their first-ever Women’s World Cup appeared distant.
Now the Scorchers are one victory away from realising that dream as they face Ghana this evening in the quarter-finals at Al Madina Stadium in Rabat.
match. | Courtesy of FAM
For a team making its maiden appearance at the continental showpiece, the Scorchers have already exceeded expectations.
But coach Lovemore Fazili’s charges now have an opportunity to turn a remarkable debut into a historic campaign.
The Scorchers announced themselves in emphatic fashion by stunning defending champions Nigeria 3-2 in the group stage before navigating their way into the knockout phase.
Now they face Ghana, a team ranked considerably higher in the Fifa Women’s World Ranking.
Ghana are 60th in the world while Malawi are 153rd, according to the latest official Fifa ranking released before the tournament.
The 93-place difference illustrates the gulf in pedigree between the two sides on paper.
But rankings count for little once the whistle goes as the Scorchers already proved that against Nigeria.
Their victory over the Super Falcons, one of Africa’s traditional women’s football powerhouses, demonstrated that the Scorchers can compete with teams that have considerably greater tournament experience and a higher international ranking.
Fazili in a pre-match interview soundend a battle-cry.
He said: ” We are prepared for game. We are going there to give out our best so that we can become victorious because if we win we are going to the World Cup next year.
“This is what everybody’s looking for. We lost that game against Zambia. But I think we played well. We managed to fight back and we got one goal.
“But we are on top of the game. We played very well. We will continue from where we stopped. Obviously the players, I think are angry after losing to Zambia. They want to win.”
Of course, Ghana enter the contest with the advantage of experience.
The Black Queens are regular participants at the continental showpiece.
Malawi, by contrast, are newcomers to the Wafcon knockout stage.
But the Scorchers have already gone beyond what many expected of them.
Malawi’s attacking threat will again rest on sisters, Temwa and Tabitha.
Kansas City Current forward Temwa possesses the pace and movement to stretch Ghana’s defence.
She has already demonstrated her ability to decide major matches, scoring three goals at the tournament.
Olympique Lyonnais forward and Scorchers captain Tabitha brings a different dimension to Malawi’s attack.
She can drop deep to collect possession, move into wide areas or combine with Temwa in the final third.
Ghana captain Portia Boakye in defence will have to tame the two.
Black Queens’ attack will mostly rely on Evelyn Badu and Jennifer Cudjoe who have already proved they can dismantle tight defences.
