Malawi women’s U-20 head coach Maggie Chombo has said beating Nigeria’s Falconets will be a big achievement for football in her country.
Chombo’s side are on the verge of making history as they face the Falconets in the first leg of the 2026 U-20 World Cup final round qualifiers.
To get to this stage Malawi overcame Guinea-Bissau 6-2 aggregate in the third round.
Now, standing before her team and a first ever World Cup appearance by any Malawian national team is the Falconets.
“That would be a big achievement to Malawian football, this is our third time (playing in the U-20 qualifiers), in 2020 we were knocked out by Zimbabwe and in 2021 we lost to Zambia,” Chombo said in her pre-match presser on Friday.
Also Read: 2026 U-20 WWCQ: Falconets Coach Targets High Scoreline Win Against Malawi
“So, to win against Nigeria and qualify for the World Cup would be a big achievement for me as a coach and to the players as well and a huge development in women’s football in Malawi because as we all know Malawi football is growing.”
She admitted that it would be a difficult encounter for her team but is still expecting a positive forst leg encounter.
She added:”I know it wouldn’t be an easy game because Nigeria is a strong team and they have played in the World Cup before and for us it would be the first time to reach this far. Like I said, it would be a tough game but as a coach I’m expecting a good game.”
By James Agberebi in Ikenne
