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Malawi Women’s Under-20 Captain Targets History Ahead of Nigeria Clash
Malawi Women’s Under-20 captain Leticia Chinyamula has expressed pride after the Junior Scorchers emerged as the only team from the COSAFA region to reach the final round of the 2027 FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup African Qualifiers.
The Junior Scorchers sealed their place in the fourth and decisive round with an emphatic 6–2 aggregate victory over Guinea-Bissau in the third round of the qualifiers.
Malawi will now face Nigeria Women’s Under-20 in a two-legged playoff scheduled for May, with the winner earning a coveted ticket to the 2027 FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup, set to be hosted in Poland in September 2027.
Malawi are the lone COSAFA representatives still in contention after South Africa and Zambia were eliminated last weekend, while Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia crashed out in the second round.
Reflecting on the achievement, Chinyamula described the milestone as historic for Malawian women’s football.
“We are proud to be the only team in Southern Africa that has reached this stage. It is not a small achievement, especially when you consider that in our previous appearances we failed to progress beyond the first round,” she said.
Despite the breakthrough, the skipper insists the team’s focus remains firmly on the ultimate prize.
“We will work hard to make our country and the region proud by qualifying for the World Cup. We still have to face Nigeria, who are seasoned campaigners in this competition, so it will not be easy. We must raise our level and address all the areas where we need to improve.”
Victory over Nigeria would see Malawi make history as the first women’s national team from the country to qualify for a FIFA World Cup tournament, underlining the significance of the upcoming playoff.
