The Scorchers have two possible pathways to secure a place at the expanded 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Brazil following their historic 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nation (Wafcon) quarter-finals qualification.
Fifa Women’s World Cup new regulations put the most direct route as reaching the Wafcon semi-finals.
Thus a victory over the Group D runners-up in the quarter-finals would automatically secure Malawi a place at the global showpiece.
But even if Malawi fall in the quarter-finals this Sunday, their World Cup dream will remain alive since under the qualification format, losing quarter-finalists will contest play-in matches.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) operations director Gomezgani Zakazaka in an interview yesterday said while the play-offs provide a safety net, the Scorchers’ objective is to qualify automatically.
He said: “We will not leave anything to chance. Our target is direct qualification by reaching the semi-finals.
“The play-offs are there as another route, but they are tricky because they involve tough teams from different confederations. Our focus is to finish the job in the quarter-finals.”
Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia all finished on six points in Group C, but Malawi topped the pool on the head-to-head rule involving the three teams.
Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili in an interview said finishing top of such a difficult group was an extraordinary achievement.
He said: “I am happy for the qualification although we lost to Zambia. To finish top of a group that had Nigeria and Zambia is extraordinary considering where we are coming from.
“This is our first tournament and we have managed to finish number one in our group. The players and the entire technical panel are delighted.
“We should also thank FAM for the support it has given the team through friendly matches and motivation. The president, Fleetwood Haiya, also put in a lot of effort. This achievement is a token of appreciation to him and all Malawians.”
Should the Scorchers lose their last-eight tie, they will face the losers of quarter-final one between hosts Morocco and South Africa on August 13.
The winners of the two play-in matches will progress to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Fifa explained in a statement: “There will be two teams from the Asian Football Confederation [AFC], two from the Confederation of African Football [CAF], one from the South American Football Confederation [Conmebol] and one from the Oceania Football Confederation [OFC].
“Using a format which will be confirmed at a later date, two teams will qualify for the final play-off phase. The final play-off phase will be played in a centralised location in February 2027, where the two qualifiers from the first phase will be joined by two teams from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), one from Conmebol and one from Uefa.
“The six teams will be drawn into three paths, with a direct knockout match to determine the final three teams qualifying for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2027..”
Football analyst Charles Nyirenda said the significance of Malawi’s opening victory over Nigeria only became fully apparent after the dramatic conclusion of the group stage.
He said: “When Malawi beat Nigeria 3-2 in the opening match, the significance of that result was not fully appreciated until Wednesday night. With Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia all tied on six points, qualification came down to head-to-head calculations.
“The three goals scored against Nigeria and Tabitha Chawinga’s goal against Zambia gave Malawi four goals in the head-to-head standings. Nigeria had three and Zambia finished with two. That is why Malawi topped the group while Zambia were eliminated.”
At press time last night, Ghana and Mali were battling it out in Group D to decide who will face Malawi in the quarter-finals.
