Zimbabwe National Women’s team put their chances of qualifying to the knockout stages in tatters when they drew 3-3 to Malawi on Sunday afternoon.

The Mighty Warriors went in to the game topping the group and what they needed was a win with a bigger margin. However luck was not on their side as Zambia ran riot in the other game of group A, putting seven past hapless Madagascar.

Shepolopolo advanced to the next round as group A winners.

A hat trick from Rutendo Makore was not enough to save the day for the girls.

The home team kicked off the game with intentions to score an early goal. Makore could have scored on the 13th minute but her header went wide. It wasn’t going to be too long for Makore to sent her team in to the lead. Her effort found the back of the net in the 21st minute when she picked a loose ball in the box.

Zimbabwe continued to attack with Malawi playing second best. Makore doubled the advantage on the half hour mark when she outpaced Malawi defenders to beat a helpless goalkeeper.

However with the hosts’ second goal coming as a wake-up call, Malawi re-organised themselves and pulled back one seven minutes later.

The scoreline remained 2-1 on the halftime.

Rutendo completed her hat trick in the second half but Malawi responded quickly and scored their second.

There was a late drama when the hosts were denied a victory after they conceded with two minutes left on the clock.

The match ended 3-3 with Mighty Warriors’s hopes of qualifying to the semi finals almost faded. They now wait the outcome of Group B which will be played tomorrow.  A draw would be enough to see them through in a game between Kenya and Swaziland but a win for the East Africans will definitely brighten up things.

Elsewhere, South Africa booked their place in the semis after they topped Group C with seven points. Kenya, on the other hand also qualified to the next round.