Malawi skipper Kamwendo refuses to be substituted

Malawi national team Captain Joseph Kamwendo refused to be substituted during the team’s 2-1 loss to Zimbabwe in a Group L qualifying match of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on Saturday afternoon.

The Flames were humiliated at home by Zimbabwe Warriors, who arrived in Malawi by road a few hours before the game.

With the scores tied at 1-1 in the second half, Head coach Young Chimodzi told his Captain to pave way for Gerald Phiri Jnr but Kamwendo defied the order, leaving his boss with no option but to substitute Dziko Mkanda for Esau Kanyenda.

Surprisingly, soon after the substitution, Kamwendo gave Kanyenda the Captain armband in an act of anger that even left his team-mates puzzled.

”Initially Kamwendo was earmarked for substitution at half-time but he was having none of it’ and was not prepared to listen to the coach,” revealed one of the Flames players.

Kamwendo’s defiance and weird behaviour towards his coach confirms reports of divisions in Flames’ camp.

And, although Kamwendo turned down his coach’s orders, Flames failed to use home advantage and beat the Warriors despite good display.

The Warriors of Zimbabwe defied the odds and got their AFCON 2017 qualifying campaign to a great start beating Malawi 2-1.

Malawi head coach Young Chimodzi on Friday said his team won’t have any excuses if they fail to beat Zimbabwe.

The Flames of Malawi have had great preparations for the game and had been in camp since the Cosafa Cup while the Warriors preparations had been a disaster.