Peter Kanjere
May 9, 2026U-20 Women’s World Cup (Q): ‘Malawi can turn tables against Nigeria’- Chombo
Photo: Football Association of Malawi
U-20 Women’s World Cup (Q): ‘Malawi can turn tables against Nigeria’- Chombo
Malawi coach Maggie Chombo has reiterated that she believes her charges can turn the tables against Nigeria in Saturday’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup final qualifying round, second leg match in Lilongwe.
The Junior Scorchers will go into the second leg at Bingu National Stadium while trailing 0-2 to the Falconets from the first leg played last Saturday.
In a post-match interview, Chombo insisted that her team can win the home tie, citing the beefing up of the squad with strikers Rose Kabzere and Faith Chinzimu as a motivating factor. The duo missed the first leg played at Remo Stars Stadium.
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Chombo confident in Malawi comeback
“The girls are looking very fit for the game and the morale in camp is very high,” she said.
“Anything in a game of football is possible. Nigeria managed to score those goals at their home-ground, and we can turn the tables here. If you saw those goals, we just gave them. The first one was an own goal, and the second one was due to communication [breakdown] between the goalkeeper and the defender. I believe and trust that we can turn the tables with home support.”
Malawi bank on duo to achieve U-20 Women’s World Cup qualification
Chombo has since urged her charges to start the second leg on the front foot by scoring early goals to gain momentum.
“With the coming in of Rose, I am sure we will have early goals because in the first leg, we didn’t go to their third zone, which is their attacking zone,” the coach said. “We managed to build up [play from the back] but could not finish the chances in their zone. With the coming in of Rose, I am sure we will manage to go into their zone,” she added.
The overall winner of the two legs will book a ticket to the 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
The girls booked a date with the Falconets after thrashing Guinea-Bissau 5-1 in Lilongwe in February 2026 in the previous qualifying round.
