Zimbabwe Women's National Football Team's new expatriate coach Stella Gotal has expressed admiration for Malawi's Scorchers ahead of their 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Qualifiers' second round first leg. Gotal, a Croatian coach, quoted in a Zimbabwean newspaper, expects a tough match against the Scorchers. The two teams will face each other in the first leg at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe this Friday, with the return leg scheduled for National Sports Stadium in Harare four days later.
The Scorchers, fresh from their impressive run at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), finished as runners-up to Cameroon's Indomitable Lionesses. Gotal believes her team must be tactically disciplined to stop the Scorchers, who are physical, direct, and dangerous on set-pieces. She emphasizes the importance of matching the Scorchers' intensity while maintaining their own identity. Gotal's team should understand their individual roles and give maximum effort to achieve teamwork and results.
Gotal, who joined the Mighty Warriors a month ago on a two-year contract, is working on finding a solution for the Scorchers' fast and direct style. This style is characterized by counter-attacks and individual fire-power from world-class forwards Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga. The tie will be Gotal's debut, and her task is to guide the team back to the Olympics. Zimbabwe made their debut at the Olympics in 2016 in Brazil, while the Scorchers are yet to qualify.
The Malawi Women's National Football Team, the Scorchers, regrouped on Friday in Lilongwe after coach Lovemore Fazili named a 28-member provisional squad for the back-to-back matches. The squad includes Under-20 player Talandira Chinyamvula, while Patricia Nyirenda returns to the national team setup after last featuring for the Scorchers during the 2024 Cosafa Women's Championship. Fazili has largely retained the core of the squad that represented Malawi at the 2026 Wafcon.
Asante Khamula of Washington Adventist University has earned a maiden Scorchers call-up. The winner of the two-legged tie will progress to the next round, where they will face the winner between Kenya and Seychelles in February next year. The Scorchers are ranked 153rd on the Fifa Women's World Rankings, 26 places below Zimbabwe. This ranking indicates a challenging match for both teams.
Gotal emphasizes that her team is more interested in increasing their work rate on the pitch and executing their philosophy and style in the best possible way. She does not want to dwell on the Scorchers' status, instead focusing on her team's performance. The Mighty Warriors regrouped last week, preparing for this crucial match.
The two teams have different backgrounds, with Zimbabwe having debuted at the Olympics in 2016 and Malawi yet to qualify. The Scorchers' fairy-tale run at the 2026 Wafcon has made them a formidable opponent. Gotal's experience and the Scorchers' skills will make for an exciting match.
Key points
- Zimbabwe coach Stella Gotal expects a tough match against Malawi's Scorchers.
- The Scorchers are ranked 153rd on the Fifa Women's World Rankings.
- The winner of the two-legged tie will progress to the next round.
