The Malawi Under-20 Women’s National Football Team, the Young Scorchers, ended Nigeria’s Falconets unbeaten record in the 2026 Fifa U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers following a 2-1 victory at Bingu National Stadium on Saturday.
Prior to Saturday’s defeat, the Falconets had not lost a match in the qualifiers, having beaten Rwanda (1-0 and 4-0) before eliminating Senegal following 1-0 and 2-1 victories in a two-legged affair.
Additionally, the Falconets lifted the 2025 West African Football Union (Wafu) B Nations U-20 Championship unbeaten, having registered four victories, scored 10 goals and conceded once.
During the Wafu B U-20 Women’s Championship, the Falconets defeated Ghana twice (3-1, 3-0) and also beat Benin Republic (3-0 and 1-0).
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Although the win over Nigeria was not enough for the Young Scorchers to qualify for their first-ever World Cup finals but Malawi has made headlines for good reasons. The Young Scorchers are also the first team to score two goals against the Falconets in all competitions since last year.
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The win over Nigeria meant Malawi finished the World Cup qualifiers unbeaten at home.
Malawi coach Maggie Chombo said the girls had been consistent throughout the qualifiers.
“The girls have been consistent and deserve credit. I thank the girls for a good fight throughout the qualifiers,” Chombo said.
Faith Chimzimu scored a brace for the Scorchers before Precious Oscar netted the crucial goal for Nigeria.
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Nigeria advanced to 2026 World Cup finals 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-0 win in the first leg at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Nigeria.
Nigeria coach Moses Adukwu also praised the Young Scorchers for the wonderful performance.
“The team had not lost a match in the qualifiers and friendlies. Malawians have showed us that there is a lot of work to do but we will make sure we get it done,” Adukwu said.
Adukwu said Malawi had potential to become a dominant force in African football.
“There are no pushovers in Africa; everybody is growing rapidly. Malawi are doing well and the team needs to be encouraged,” Adukwu said.
Adukwu heaped praise on Chimzimu and Rose Kabzere for their outstanding performance during the match.
Nigeria’s Falconets have qualified for every Under-20 Women’s World Cup edition since its inception. They twice finished as runners up in 2010 and 2014 having lost to German on both occasions.
Sports analyst George Chiusiwa said Young Scorchers had a lot of potential.
“We won 2-1 eventually but it was too little to make it to the promised land. It is unfortunate that football is sometimes cruel. We stand tall with pride because of this feat. This is a football project that should not only be celebrated but also needs to be nurtured and tendered well,” Chiusiwa said.
