Third-place bid

Scorchers have downplayed India’s superiority on Fifa World Rankings and have vowed to win this afternoon when they meet in a 2026 Fifa Women’s Series third-place playoff in Nairobi, Kenya. The Malawi Women’s National Football Team is ranked 153rd, 86 places below the Blue Tigresses, but Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili said that does not tip the scales in India’s favour. A win for the Scorchers will be a face saver as they will finish third in the four-team series.

Malawi lost their opening match 5-0 to 15th-ranked Australia on Saturday while India lost 2-0 to the 134th ranked hosts. Fazili believes India’s superiority is just on paper. “It is a must-win game for us and we are geared,” he said.

The coach said that after watching India taking on Kenya, they noted some gaps in India’s overall play, which they are determined to capitalise on. “India played as a team with their four-four-two format, but we noted some gaps in their approach. During our training sessions, we worked on how to capitalise on India’s shortfalls through counter-attacks,” he said.

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“We are a better team and whatever the approach we bring into our game tomorrow [today] must be a positive one.” Meanwhile, Fazili has hinted at making some changes to give other players who did not feature against Australia a chance. He also said some foreign-based players struggled in the first match due to fatigue after hours of travel, but he expects a better performance today. The Scorchers are using the series to tune up for the the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in July this year, but are without the Chawinga sisters Tabitha and Temwa due to injuries.

Scorchers midfielder Leticia Chinyamula said Malawi lost the first game to Australia because they were disorganized, but now the problems have been rectified. Meanwhile, India head coach Crispin Chettri was quoted by ndtv.com as having said that her team needs to improve in attack, “especially in the final third”. “Mentally, the players are much more prepared now. They are focused on preparing for the next game,” he said.

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