Malawi face Nigeria in U-20 Women’s World Cup  final qualifier

The Malawi Under-20 Women’s National Football Team will face their Nigerian in the final qualification round of 2026 Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup in May. This comes after Nigeria beat Senegal 2-1 away on Saturday evening to sail through to the fourth round 3-1 on aggregate. Malawi coach Maggie Chombo-Sadiki, whose side progressed to the next round with a 6-2 aggregate win over Guinea Bissau, has since called for at least two international friendlies ahead of the final qualification round.

Malawi held Guinea Bissau one-all in the first leg before an emphatic 5-1 victory in the second leg on Saturday at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe. Malawi went into the two-legged matches against Guinea Bissau without playing any international friendly match, but Chombo-Sadiki believes it will be a setback not to play an international friendly in preparation for Nigeria. “Of course, our girls are capable of defying the odds, but at this crucial stage, we need to be cautious.

We need to start our preparations early and play at least two test matches,” she said. “We should take advantage of our season break to remain in camp for a longer period so that the players should further enhance their cohesion and coordination. Despite our emphatic win against Guinea Bissau, there are some gaps that need to be filled.” Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Fleetwood Haiya said they are committed to ensuring that the team should have thorough preparations ahead of the final round.

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“However, we will make a decision based on the plan for preparations from the team’s technical panel. We will continue transforming the game and leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of excellence,” he said. Haiya added that while FAM will do its best to give the team the best preparations, they will also require support from other stakeholders including the corporate world and government.

“It feels great to see that both our senior and under-20 women’s national teams are making us proud with their success in international competitions and we will continue giving them unwavering support,” he said. The 12th edition of the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup finals will be held in Poland from September 5 to 27 this year.

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