History will be made as the Malawi Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers lock horns with Australia’s Matildas in their opening Fifa Women’s Series match in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday afternoon.

All eyes will be on the Scorchers on how they are going to perform against one of the top ranked teams in the world.

Currently, Australia are 15th in the world whereas the Scorchers are 153rd.

This is Malawi’s biggest test since the team made its international debut during the Cosafa Women’s Championship when they lost 8-0 to neighbours Zambia in 2002.

It will be the first match for the Scorchers to face a team from outside Africa.

Fast forward, the Scorchers have made great strides including qualifying for their maiden Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals this year and lifting their first ever Cosafa Women’s Championship in 2023.

Surely, the Scorchers are no longer push overs at any stage.

This afternoon, the Scorchers will be looking to write their piece of history against Australia.

In all fairness, there is a big gulf between the Scorchers and the Matildas in terms of class and quality.

On paper, the Scorchers are underdogs but they can learn from a biblical story of David and Goliath.

For starters, David smote Goliath and prevailed over him.

Despite the absence of key stars, captain Tabitha and her sister Temwa Chawinga, the Scorchers have several experienced and blossoming players such as France-based Rose Kabzere, Sweden-based Faith Chimzimu, Morocco-based Sabina Thom, DRC based Chimwemwe Madise and Egypt-based Vanessa Chikupila.

Scorchers Coach Fazili

The match against Australia comes one month after a disappointing campaign at the 2025 Cosafa Cup in South Africa where they exited in the group stage with one loss and two victories.

Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili said the Scorchers will not be intimidated with the Matildas pedigree. “We are not scared of playing Australia. We have good players who are also playing in Europe. This is a motivation for the girls and we want to win the match,” Fazili said.z

Despite the absence of Tabitha and Temwa, Fazili said he has a squad capable of upsetting Australia.

“We have a good squad and we rely on all the players. Nevertheless, we wish Tabitha and Temwa a quick recovery,” he said.

Faith Chimzimu, Morocco-based Sabina Thom, DRC based Chimwemwe Madise and Egypt-based Vanessa Chikupila.

The match against Australia comes one month after a disappointing campaign at the 2025 Cosafa Cup in South Africa where they exited in the group stage with one loss and two victories.

Despite the absence of Tabitha and Temwa, Fazili said he has a squad capable of upsetting Australia.

“We have a good squad and we rely on all the players. Nevertheless, we wish Tabitha and Temwa a quick recovery,” he said.

On the other hand, the Matildas want to bounce back after they lost to Japan in the Asian Cup final on home soil three weeks ago.

Australia coach Joe Montemurro has named a strong squad for the clash including Arsenal forward Caitlin Foord and Chelsea star Sam Kerr.

Montemurro said playing the Scorchers would help them understand new style of opponents.

“The reality is that we, at some point, have to understand what the African nations are all about and what they can throw at us,” he was quoted as saying on Football360.com.

“The reality is that I think we have set ourselves a benchmark and playing against those top 15 nations leading into the World Cup and differing styles is going to be critical and important.”

The winner between the Scorchers will face either hosts Kenya or India four days later.

The Scorchers are using the Fifa Series to prepare for the Wafcon finals as they are in Group C alongside Nigeria, Zambia and Egypt.

The Times Group

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