Frank Mojah Dzuwa

The Malawi Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers, 8-1 victory over Lesotho yesterday have strengthened their chances of progressing to the semi-finals in pool A.

It was Malawi’s first victory at this years’ Hollywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Championship 2025 after they suffered 2-0 in their opening match to South Africa.

Deborah Henry scored a hat trick, while Ireen Khumalo added a brace. The other goals came from Vanessa Chikupila, Vitumbiko Mkandawire and Olivia Phikani as Malawi produced their biggest win of the competition so far.

Chances of Malawi to qualify

Malawi now have three points in Group A with a superior goal difference of plus five. South Africa had already secured top spot—and a semifinal slot with six points.

Under the tournament format, only group winners and the best runner up across all three groups advance to the semifinals.

With South Africa already through, Malawi’s qualification hopes now depend on finishing as the best second placed team.

The Scorchers are level on three points with Angola, who have a goal difference of zero. The two sides will meet in their final Group A match on Tuesday in what is expected to be a decisive encounter.

After the match, head coach Lovemore Fazili said he was pleased with both the result and goals scored, explaining that the team had deliberately targeted a high scoring performance.

“The game was good and I am happy that we collected three points and scored many goals. We agreed before the match that we needed to score as many goals as possible because that would help us reach the next stage,” said Fazili.

While victory against Angola would significantly improve the Scorchers’ chances of reaching the last four, other results in the remaining groups could also influence the race for the best runner up spot.