The Scorchers have two possible pathways to secure a place at the expanded 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Brazil following their historic 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nation (Wafcon) quarter-finals qualification. Fifa Women’s World Cup new regulations put the most direct route as reaching the Wafcon semi-finals. Football Association of Malawi (FAM) operations director Gomezgani Zakazaka in an interview yesterday said while the play-offs provide a safety net, the Scorchers’ objective is to qualify automatically. Fifa explained in a statement: “There will be two teams from the Asian Football Confederation [AFC], two from the Confederation of African Football [CAF], one from the South American Football Confederation [Conmebol] and one from the Oceania Football Confederation [OFC]. With Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia all tied on six points, qualification came down to head-to-head calculations.