Kansas City Current striker Temwa Chawinga has urged her Malawi teammates to 'fix their minds' and put their Women's Africa Cup of Nations final heartbreak behind them in order to do themselves justice at the FIFA Women's World Cup next year.
Malawi's remarkable debut WAFCON campaign ended in disappointment with a one-sided 3-0 defeat by Cameroon in Rabat on Sunday, with several players struggling to contain their emotions as the Scorchers conceded three first-half goals.
Chawinga has revealed that her teammate -- 19-year-old Faith Chinzimu -- was among the player reduced to tears during the match, and has insisted Malawi must improve the mental side of their game if they're to avoid unravelling at next year's tournament in Brazil.
"I know a lot of the girls are really down today because we lost the game," Chawinga told ESPN. "This player was crying, that player was crying, my friend Faith, she cried.
"We just have to look at ourselves. It's our first time in the tournament, but we reached this level and we should be proud of ourselves.
"The whole country of Malawi will be proud of us, we shouldn't look down on ourselves. We need to fix our minds and go hard."
After arguably enjoying the better of the exchanges during the opening stages against Cameroon, Malawi conceded in the 20th minute when Marie Ngah Manga capitalised on a Mercy Sikelo error, before Naomi Eto added another with a fine volley ten minutes later.
The Scorchers' hopes of going in at the break only 2-0 down were dashed when another mistake by Sikelo in the third minute of stoppage time allowed Ngah Manga to add a third for the Indomitable Lionesses, essentially ending the match as a contest.
Nonetheless, Malawi's unlikely run to the WAFCON semifinal means they'll be one of Africa's four guaranteed qualifiers at the World Cup next year, a remarkable achievement for team ranked 153rd in the world before the continental showpiece began.
Chawinga added. "I just say to the players: 'we need to fix our minds, the game should not bring us down'.
"We know that we need to fix our team with the football. We play well, but to go there, we need to fix our minds.
"We need to reach our best - reach the Round of 16, the quarterfinals - we need to be proud of ourselves. We need to be happy. So I'm looking forward to that."
Malawi's run in Morocco has already represented a dramatic shift in the country's standing within the continental game, having arrived at the WAFCON as debutants and rank outsiders for the tournament.
For Chawinga, Malawi will take great confidence and belief from reflecting on their performances in Morocco, and allowing the true scale of their achievements this summer to sink in.
"We just have to look up and applaud ourselves because they didn't give us a lot of chance to qualify for this tournament," she concluded, "but we qualified, so I'm really happy for that.
"It means a lot for us as a country, and for me as an individual. It's our first time to be at this tournament, but we showed the whole world that we can do it.
"We showed the whole world that we're doing it in Africa, fighting hard. Getting to Brazil is a big achievement."
For Temwa's sister, Lyon's Tabitha, the World Cup offers Malawi an opportunity to reaffirm the qualities they've shown at the WAFCON on a global stage.
"Hopefully, we can dance at the World Cup as well, like we did at the Africa Cup of Nations," Tabitha added. "Maybe now it's our time.
"We learned a lot of things at this tournament, we need to now go home, sit down, and think about the next stage - the World Cup and the Olympics. We need to be better."