Junior Scorchers eye slot in last 16 of WCQ as they face South Sudan

Malawi’s Under-20 Women’s Football team is set to finish the job and progress to the third round of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers when they face South Sudan in the second leg match in Juba on Friday.

The Young Scorchers will play their “home” match away from home due to the unavailability of Bingu National Stadium this weekend, taking a crucial two-goal aggregate lead into the encounter.

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Eneles Fabiano and Sarah Mlimbika scored for Malawi on Tuesday in a dominant first-leg performance, and head coach Maggie Chombo-Sadick believes her team can build on that success.

“In the first leg, we started on a low note before playing our normal game, so I have advised the girls to start with fire and score more goals in this match. It was difficult at first because we didn’t fully know our opponents, but now that we know them, we will come hard at them,” said Chombo-Sadick.

The coach confirmed there will be no changes to the starting XI that performed so well in the first leg, believing alterations could disrupt the team’s rhythm and game plan.

Speaking ahead of the match, captain Leticia Chinyamula said the team is determined to improve on their first-leg performance.

“We were a bit nervous because they had fans supporting them at home, but we adapted and played good football. Yesterday is gone and we focus on tomorrow – I believe we will perform much better in the second leg,” said Chinyamula.

Victory for Malawi on aggregate would set up a third-round clash against either Guinea-Bissau or Congo, with the first leg scheduled for February 6-8, 2026, and the return leg on February 12-14.

Success in the third round would secure a quarter-final berth, where victory would guarantee one of Africa’s four spots at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.