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Maggie Chombo Laments Defensive Errors in Malawi’s Loss to Nigeria
Malawi Women’s U-20 head coach, Maggie Chombo, has reflected on her team’s 2–0 defeat to Nigeria women’s national under-20 football team in the first leg of the final qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, pointing to costly defensive lapses as the key difference.
Speaking after the match, Chombo acknowledged that her side showed promise early on but lost structure as the game progressed.
“The first half was okay, but in the second half my team was not organised. The first goal came from a defensive mix-up. The players tried their best,” she said.
The Malawian coach noted that individual mistakes proved decisive, with poor communication at the back leading directly to Nigeria’s goals.
“They made costly mistakes that led to conceding the two goals. One was a giveaway, and the other came from a lack of communication between two defenders,” Chombo explained.
Despite the setback, Chombo remains optimistic ahead of the return leg at home. She emphasized that her team has learned valuable lessons and will work on correcting their defensive weaknesses.
“When we go back, we will polish those areas. Nigeria is a strong and experienced team—they’ve played in this tournament for many years. This is only our third time reaching this stage, and we’ve learned a lot from them.”
She added that Malawi still has a chance to turn things around.
“Everything is possible. We are going to do our best to win the return leg at home. I believe we can score there.”
The second leg will determine which side secures qualification, with Malawi aiming to overturn the deficit on home soil.
