* The two teams met last year in Morocco when Ghana were preparing for WAfCON 2026 while Malawi were building up for their qualification match against Angola
* The Black Queens won the match 3-1 which US-based star Temwa Chawinga missed and is part of the current WAfCON squad
* Along with Tendai Sani, who scored the Scorchers consolation goal in the friendly played in Morocco
Maravi Express
Malawi Scorchers head coach, Lovemore Fazili says they are treating this Thursday’s friendly match (19h00) against Ghana as if the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON) Morocco 2026 has already started.
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A report filed by FAM Media quotes Fazili as saying the Ghana match will be a tough but important test for the team before the tournament.
“…obviously the game is going to be a good game and tough for that matter,” he said. “Despite it being a friendly match, we have trained and tried to sort out areas that we did not do well during the Morocco game.”
The Scorchers — before US-based star forward Temwa Chawinga joined the squad in Morocco — lost 1-2 to the hosts last Thursday and Fazili indicated that they will take the Ghana game with the same serious approach.
This will be their final pre-tournament friendly as they continue preparations for their maiden WAfCON appearance.
The two teams met last year when Ghana were preparing for this WAfCON, while Malawi were building up for their qualification match against Angola.
Ghana won the match 3-1, which Temwa missed and is part of the current WAfCON squad — with Tendai Sani, who is also available in Morocco, scoring the consolation goal for the Scorchers.
Temwa Chawinga
Fazili added that some players who did not feature against Morocco are expected to be given a chance against Ghana, although he stressed the importance of maintaining team balance and combinations, saying “it is not all the time that we should change the whole team”.
“You can bear with me that if we change the whole team, then what is the purpose of doing that? The purpose is to build combinations and have a strong team.
“Some of the players who did not play will play, and some we are going to use during the tournament,” said the coach, who also welcomed the return of vice-captain, Temwa.
He said her presence has strengthened the attacking options, “which means even upfront she is here to assist us”.
“With the other strikers, the coordination during training has been very good. We have almost tried to fix all departments in the team.”
He added that a positive result against Ghana would boost the team’s morale ahead of the continental showpiece.
“A win will give us morale. Myself, the technical panel and the players know the importance of the Ghana game,” he said.
The Scorchers are in Group C alongside neighbours Zambia, the Copper Queens, the Cleopatras of Egypt and defending champions, the Super Falcons of Nigeria.
Malawi will open their campaign against Nigeria on July 28, 2026 at Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, before facing Egypt on August 1 at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat — before concluding the group qualifying stage against Zambia on August 5 at Al Madina Stadium in Rabat.
The top two teams from the group will qualify for the quarterfinals while the semifinalists will automatically qualify for the Women’s FIFA World Cup Brazil 2027.—Reporting by FAM Media; editing by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
All the fixtures — kick-off times CAT):
Group stages
Group A
Sunday, July 26
Algeria v Senegal (19h00)
Morocco v Kenya (22h00)
Group B
Monday, July 27
South Africa v Tanzania (19h00)
Côte d’Ivoire v Burkina Faso (22h00)
Group C
Tuesday July 28
Zambia v Egypt (19h00)
Nigeria v Malawi (22h00)
Group D
Wednesday, July 29
Ghana v Cape Verde (19h00)
Cameroon vs Mali (22h00)
Thursday, July 30
Group A
Senegal v Kenya (19h00)
Morocco v Algeria (22h00)
Friday, July 31
Group B
South Africa v Côte d’Ivoire (19h00)
Burkina Faso v Tanzania (22h00)
Saturday, August 1
Group C
Egypt v Malawi (19h00)
Nigeria v Zambia (22h00)
Sunday, August 2
Group D
Ghana v Cameroon (19h00)
Mali v Cape Verde (22h00)
Monday, August 3
Group A
Senegal v Morocco (22h00)
Kenya v Algeria (22h00)
Tuesday, August 4
Group B
Burkina Faso v South Africa (22h00)
Tanzania v Côte d’Ivoire (22h00)
Wednesday, August 5
Group C
Egypt v Nigeria (22h00)
Malawi v Zambia (22h00)
Thursday, August 6
Group D
Mali v Ghana (22h00)
Cape Verde v Cameroon (22h00)
Quarterfinals
Saturday, August 8
QF 2: Winner Group B v 2nd Place Group A (19h00)
QF 1: Winner Group A v 2nd Place Group B (22h00)
Sunday, August 9
QF 4: Winner Group D v 2nd Place Group C (19h00)
QF 3: Winner Group C v 2nd Place Group D (22h00)
Semifinals
Wednesday, August 12
SF2: Winner QF2 v Winner QF3 (19h00)
SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF4 (22h00)
World Cup 2027 play-off matches
Thursday, August 13
Loser QF2 v Loser QF3 (19h00)
Loser QF1 v Loser QF4 (22h00)
Third place play-off
Saturday, August 15
Loser SF1 v Loser SF2 (19h00)
WAfCON 2026 final
Sunday, August 16
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2, Moulay Hassan Stadium or Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, (21h00)
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