The Malawi Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers, is well prepared for a tough encounter against Morocco’s Atlas Lionesses in an international friendly match at Kenitra Stadium in Morocco tonight.
The match kicks off at 9.30pm.
This is the first battle between the Scorchers and the Atlas Lionesses.
The Scorchers are in unfamiliar territory as this is their first ever international match in North Africa.
The odds are stacked against the Scorchers as they are separated by 94 places on the Fifa World Rankings, with the Atlas Lionesses on position 60 whereas Malawi are on position 154.
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Morocco, ranked third in Africa, are no longer pushovers in the continent surprise tonight. but Malawi will be hoping to pull a
Surely, the Scorchers need to be brave and show great character to match the North African giants.
The match promises to be a thrilling encounter between the two sides.
Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili said the girls were ready for the match.
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“We had good preparations. All the players in camp look in shape. We are looking forward to the match,” Fazili said.
This is Malawi’s fifth unprecedented international friendly match this year, having played against Zambia and South Africa in February and April this year.
Fazili has assembled a strong 24-member squad for the match.
France-based captain Tabitha Chawinga is leading the squad alongside Georgia-based striker Sabina Thom.
But United States-based striker Temwa Chawinga and TP Mazembe defender Chimwemwe Madise are out of the clash due to club commitments.
On the other hand, Morocco, who reached the last 16 during the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, have players such as Ghizlane Chebbak and Fatima Tagnaout.
Additionally, they hired Spain World Cup winning coach Jorge Vilda.
The Atlas Lionesses are using the match as part of preparations for the delayed 2024 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals which they will host later this month end.
They are in a highly competitive Group A alongside Zambia, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Scorchers, on the other hand, are using the match as a yardstick for their second round Wafcon qualifier match against Angola later this year.
Malawi booked a spot in the second round following Congo Brazaville’s withdrawal.
The overall winner will qualify for Wafcon finals.
Malawi have never qualified for the Wafcon finals.
In February, this year Malawi lost 2-0 to Zambia in the first match but beat the Copper Queens 3-2 in the second match.
In April, Malawi lost 3-0 and 2-1 to South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.
