FIFA Series: Australia’s Matildas thrash Malawi to set up potential clash against Harambee Starlets
By Luke Oluoch, April 11, 2026Australia’s women’s national team has proceeded to the inaugural FIFA Women’s final after eliminating Malawi on a 5-0 score line on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at the Nyayo National Stadium.
The Matilda, led by Chelsea star Sam Kerr, made light work of the WAFCON-bound Malawi side, completing a three-goal rout at the hour mark with Kerr among the scorers.
The Africans, ranked at 153rd, found proceeding tough against the superiorly ranked team, India, who sits in Women’s top 100 ranking at 67th.
The tie was a curtain-raiser to the much-anticipated Kenya vs. India clash to be staged later as Starlets face the Blue Tigress for a place in the series finale.
Emily Van Egmon stormed the Matildas into the lead five minutes in, before Chelsea veteran star Kerr doubled the lead after 20 minutes.
Dominant Aussies
The dominant Aussies coached by Joe Mentemurro, extended the cruise with Alex Chidioc slamming home the third goal for the visitors.
Mcnamara Hooly and Leticia Mckenna added more goals to complete the rout against
This means that Malawi now awaits the loser of the clash pitting Kenya against India, which kicks off at 5:00 pm in the second tie of the afternoon.
The competition will hold the third-place playoff and the finale on Wednesday, April, at the same venue.
Malawi coach Lovemore Fazili hailed the hosting of the four-nation tournament as huge for his charges, whom he backed to benefit from the exposure.
He further tipped the games to put his team in a position to reap the results of good preparations ahead of their return to the continental championship, where they will be featuring alongside Harambee Starlets.
“It was challenging and good at the same time to come face to face with big names in ladies’ football. It has been a fine lesson for our challenge ahead of WAFCON, and we hope the experience here will help us going forward,” he stated.
The third-place playoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm on Wednesday, before final action takes centre stage at 5:30 pm.