* Against a formidable Scorchers side leading 2-0 and still hungry for another win away
* Coach believes his players have enough experience to handle the pressure of playing away from home, particularly in front of a large home crowd
* They have experienced it before and have played in such environments, so I don’t think home support will be a challenge for them
By Duncan Mlanjira
It’s game on this afternoon from 15h00 at National Sports Stadium in Harare where Zimbabwe are on an uphill battle to overcome a 2-0 deficit against Malawi to win this second leg of the Olympic Games Los Angeles Olympics 2028 qualifier.
The Brave Warriors thus need to win at least by three goals to nil to advance to the next round — a feat that is very tough to achieve against formidable Scorchers side, who are still hungry for another win.
Coach Lovemore Fazili says his charges are ready for the encounter and are determined to secure another victory despite already holding the two-goal advantage.
“We are ready for tomorrow’s game. The players know the importance of the match,” Fazili is quoted as saying by FAM Media.
“We have been preparing the players mentally and physically, and I am sure there is nothing that can let us down. We are going into the match with the mindset of winning.”
Coach Lovemore Fazili
The Scorchers — buoyed by the exuberant support from an impressive fans turn up at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Friday, are looking at nothing short of a victory and any away goal puts them on a good footing.
They impressively dominated the proceedings in the first leg and could have registered more goals as they created several other scoring opportunities.
Bamboozled by the massive fans turn up, Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has been enticing fans to patronise the return match in large numbers to overwhelmingly support the Brave Warriors, saying: “The Olympic Games Los Angeles Olympics 2028 dream is still alive.
Fazili indicated that he is aware of this campaign but he believes his players have enough experience to handle the pressure of playing away from home, particularly in front of a large home crowd.
“Home support is always huge, but I think the Scorchers players are aware of that situation,” he is quoted saying.
“They have experienced it before and have played in such environments, so I don’t think home support will be a challenge for them.”
Fazili thus also called on Malawians in the Zimbabwe diaspora to immensely support their national team as they seek to take another step towards Olympic qualification.
“We always think about our supporters and want to give them positive results. We ask them to continue supporting us wherever they are. I know there are also Malawians here who will be cheering for us,” he said.
A goal each in both halves by Chawinga sisters Temwa and Tabitha respectively — coupled with the experience and confidence gained from their historic performance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON) Morocco 2026, where they finished as runners-up and qualified for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup — should give the Scorchers the impetus to go through to the next round.
Winners of this encounter will face the winner between Kenya and Seychelles, who will progress to the 3rd round of 16 teams to identify eight that will go to Round 4.
The final four nations will compete in the last round to determine two teams to represent Africa for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The Scorchers last participated in the Olympic qualifiers in 2019, in which they defeated Mozambique 14-1 on aggregate in the first round before losing 3-5 on aggregate to Kenya in the second round.
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