Malawi Women’s National Football Team and hosts South Africa are set to renew their rivalry after being drawn in the same group for this year’s Hollywood Bets Cosafa Cup alongside Madagascar and eSwatini.
The draw took place in South Africa Thursday ahead of the tournament scheduled to run from October 4 to 15 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
South Africa and Malawi were also in the same group during the 2021 edition in Port Elizabeth. Banyana Banyana edged the Scorchers 2-1 then.
However, Malawi hit back with a 3-2 win in the semi-finals to reach their first-ever Cosafa Cup final which they lost 1-0 to guests Tanzania.
Coach Lovemore Fazili described the draw as fair.
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“It looks like a very good draw. South Africa is a very strong team but I am not underrating other teams. We just have to put our team in shape and prepare well for the tournament. It appears to me like we have realistic chances of qualifying for the semi-finals this year.
“Normally, good preparations determine the future of any team. So we are going to prepare, depending on the number of days we will be in camp,’’ Fazili said.
Malawi and South Africa were also in the same group during the 2018 edition, with the latter winning the two teams’ match 6-0.
They met again in the competition’s semi-finals and South Africa also won 6-2.
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Fazili is expected to name his provisional squad ahead of camp training at Mpira Village in Blantyre on Sunday.
This will be Fazili’s second Cosafa Cup competition after taking over from MacNelbart Kazuwa last year.
The regional contest has 12 teams which have been split into three groups of four each.
Group B comprises holders Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and Comoros whereas Group C has Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
Group winners will automatically qualify for the semi-finals, with the overall best runners-up joining them.
Scorchers striker Temwa Chawinga also welcomed the draw.
“Of course South Africa is a good team and their league is advanced compared to Malawi. But with good preparations, we can beat them,’’ Temwa said.
Malawi will be hoping for an improved performance this year after failing to live up to expectations during the 2022 edition, exiting in the group stages following one win, one loss and a draw.
Malawi started the competition with a 1-1 stalemate against Botswana before beating Comoros 6-0.
However, the Scorchers finished the contest on a low note after losing 3-1 to Tanzania.
