The Scorchers are confident of recovering from a poor Tri-Nation Cup start this afternoon as they face higher-ranked neighbours Zambia’s Copper Queens in their second fixture at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Malawi must win the match, which kicks off at 3pm, to keep alive their chances of winning the
five-day tournament, having lost 2-1 to Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors in their opener on Friday.
The Copper Queens are the highest ranked team in the tournament as they are 65 on Fifa Rankings, 90 steps above the Malawi Women’s Football Team but Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili said his charges are ready for the showdown.
Head-to-head records also show the Zambians are dominant, having beaten Malawi four times and lost thrice in last eight meetings since 2012. One match ended in a stalemate.
Winner of the competition, meant to help the teams prepare for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) Finals in Morocco and the Cosafa Women’s Championship next year, will be determined based on the points accumulated. Each team will play two games.
Zimbabwe top the ladder with three points while Malawi anchor the table without a point and have a minus one goal difference. Zambia gets into their first match.
Fazili said although their main focus is not on winning the competition but preparing for Wafcon finals, they will do their best to make the nation proud.
“Winning this game will give us a real picture of what to expect at Wafcon Finals and we will give our all. Malawians also expect a good result as we are the hosts,” said the coach, whose side has so far scored 16 goals and conceded 18 in 11 games this year.
“This game will also help us know the strengths and weaknesses of Zambia ahead of the Wafcon finals because, you never know, we might be paired in the same group in Morocco.”
Fazili said their approach will be very different from the opening match against Zimbabwe and will make a lot of changes to the starting line-up.
Against Zimbabwe, regulars such as France-based captain Tabitha Chawinga, Sabina Thom, Vanessa Chikupi ra, Ireen Khumalo and goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo featured as second-half substitutes in place of Maureen Kenneth, Chisomo Banda, Tendai Sani, Sarah Mlimbika and goalkeeper Thokozani Mwase.
Zambia’s United States of America-based striker Racheal Kundananji admitted, in an article on ww.panafricafootball.com that playing against Malawi won’t be easy considering that the two teams are using the tournament to prepare for the Wafcon.
“Our opponents are not pushovers, so we should focus. Even though it’s a friendly game, we have to take it seriously because this is the time they are making a team for Wafcon. Nobody in their team knows whether they are going or not, so this is the time to pull up our socks and do our best,” the website quoted her as saying
