Sports Correspondent
Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors have been knocked out of the race for the 2028 Olympic Games after suffering a humiliating 7-0 home defeat to Malawi’s Scorchers at the National Sports Stadium on Tuesday.
The result gave Malawi a commanding 9-0 aggregate victory following their 2-0 win in the first leg in Lilongwe last Friday, sending the Scorchers into the next round of the African qualifiers.
Zimbabwe struggled to contain Malawi’s attacking threat, with United States-based forward Temwa Chawinga scoring a hat-trick in a one-sided encounter that exposed the gulf between the two sides.
Temwa opened the scoring in the 10th minute before doubling Malawi’s lead in the 30th minute, leaving the visitors firmly in control at half-time.
Malawi captain Tabitha Chawinga made it 3-0 seven minutes after the restart before Temwa completed her hat-trick in the 56th minute.
Chisomo Banda added a fifth goal in the 86th minute, with Asimenye Simwaka scoring two minutes later. Sarah Mulimbika completed the rout in stoppage time.
Malawi will now face Kenya in the next round of qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games, which will be held in Los Angeles, United States.
Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili said his team had travelled to Harare determined to score goals and secure progression.
“We came here to score goals. We wanted a win to proceed to the next stage and I’m happy because it has happened,” he said.
Fazili added that Malawi had missed several opportunities in the first leg but produced a much more clinical performance in Harare.
Mighty Warriors coach Stella Gotal acknowledged Malawi’s superiority, admitting that Zimbabwe lacked the clinical finishing and fitness required to compete effectively.
“It was a tough match. We were not clinical. Malawi is a better team,” she said.
Gotal said Zimbabwe’s players needed more international experience and significant improvement in fitness.
