The Scorchers will this afternoon return to Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe as they face Zimbabwe in their opening round of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games qualification campaign.
The match is of significance beyond the result as the Scorchers make their first competitive appearance before their home supporters since their impressive run in Morocco, where they finished as runners-up at the 2026 TotalEnergies/CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations(Wafcon) and secured qualification for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
For a team that captured the imagination of Malawians at the Wafcon stage, the encounter provides an opportunity for supporters to welcome the players home.
But amid the celebrations, the Malawi National Women’s Football Team face the immediate task of beginning another difficult qualification campaign on a positive note.
| Courtesy of FAM
Zimbabwe stand in their way, presenting the Scorchers with a different challenge as they start their pursuit of a place at the games.
The Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili, in a pre-match interview, said they are not underrating their opponent.
He said: “We are not underestimating Zimbabwe. It’s one of the strongest teams when we talk about women’s football.
“But I think we are ready for the game.
“We have told the players to forget about the Wafcon performance.
This is a totally different tournament and they are aware about it.”
Fazili said they aim at not just winning, but also scoring more goals.
“We need to win the game with a big margin because this is a home and away qualifier.
“We need to score more goals so that when we go to Zimbabwem it should be home an dry,” he said.
The fixture comes at a time when men’s football teams have endured disappointing results.
The Flames lost 3-1 away to Angola in 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Under-23 side was also knocked out of the Under-23 Afcon qualification after losing 2-1 on aggregate to Eswatini on the same day.
A week earlier, the Under-20 team also failed to qualifier for the Afcon Under-20 in Mozambique.
Fazili said the Scorchers are ready to put smiles on football fans’ faces.
“I have prepared my players to be strong mentally and physically. I have a team that can perform.” he said.
But Zimbabwe head coach Stella Gotal, in a pre-match interview, said they are equally ready for the Scorchers.
“I like challenges. Playing Malawi will be one of the challenges.
But like I said, we worked hard to prepare for the match and we are ready to compete,” she said.
The Scorchers have never beaten Zimbabwe two matches between the two sides.
The Warriors won the last fixture 2-1 in Three Nations tourney last year while the other ended in a 3-3 draw in 2017.
