FIFA U-17 WWC: Malawi conceded early to Burundi – Nkhoma

Malawi under-17 women’s national team coach Chisomo Nkhoma says conceding too early and too cheaply contributed to her team’s 2-1 loss to Burundi on Saturday.

The Burundians dumped the Young Scorchers out of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying round after beating them in Bujumbura.

All to play for in the second half pic.twitter.com/pJ4Xu9kThq

— FA Malawi (@FaMalawi) April 18, 2026

Nshizahabona Kerene and Kezakimana Ella scored for the hosts in the 10th and 14th minutes at Stade Intwari to condemn Malawi out of the race 4-2 on aggregate.

What happened during match in Bujumbura

Reflecting on the second leg match in an interview with the Malawi FA media, Nkhoma said Burundi’s early strikes unsettled her side.

“We came here and wanted to win the game, but it has again ended in the opposite way,” Nkhoma said.

“In the first half, we were not composed. I instructed the girls to be more organised in every department. From the defending zone, I told them not to concede too early, but what happened is not what I instructed them.

“We conceded too early, we lost focus and that took away our momentum. In the second half, we enjoyed the ball, we attacked more, we went into the attacking third only that we did not capitalise on all the opportunities we created.”

Nshizahabona Kerene and Kezakimana Ella scored for the hosts in the 10th and 14th minutes at Stade Intwari to condemn the Young Scorchers out of the race 4-2 on aggregate.

Why Malawi had tall order going into match

Going into the second leg, the Young Scorchers had their backs to the wall as they had lost the first leg 1-2 to Burundi in Lilongwe the previous Saturday.

Malawi, just like their seniors who finished the FIFA Series 2026 empty-handed in Kenya last week, are returning home. Burundi are proceeding to the next round to meet either South Sudan or Ethiopia.

There is one more round to produce the finalists for the tenth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The world tournament will take place in Morocco from 17 October to 7 November 2026, with 24 sides set to battle it out.