Malawi still hopeful of Afcon qualification
Malawi national team which remains third in Group B of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) following a goalless draw against group leaders Burkina Faso at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on Monday is still hopeful to get the qualification.
Skipper John Banda has not given up hope of reaching the finals to be hosted in Cameroon despite a disappointing result on Monday.
The Flames dreams of securing a ticket for the tournament suffered a minor setback with a 0-0 home draw with the visitors.
Malawi now have four points and on third position in their group with Burkina Fasso on the summit table with eight points followed by Uganda with seven points while South Sudan are anchoring the group with three points.
The task is a must win for Malawi in their last two matches against Uganda at home and South Sudan away to secure six points.
“We still have the chance to qualify. It’s not over yet. We still have two games and anything can happen.
“We have the quality to win against Uganda , everything happens in football,” said Banda.
Coach Meke Mwase also is upbeat that his charges have “a chance” to seal qualification.
On Monday, the Flames created many scoring opportunities, especially in the second half but they lacked the killer punch upfront.
Mwase deployed five natural defenders, three midfielders and two strikers, underlining his quest not to let the visitors penetrate his back-line.
The Flame’s rock solid defense kept Burkina Faso’s attacking trio of Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore and compatriots Dayo Issoufu and Lassina Soudine at bay throughout the first half.
On the other hand, the host displayed a free flowing football from the back up to the front while Ernest Kakhobwe’s man of the match performance denied the visitors scoring opportunities.
The first half ended in a stalemate and the score line remained as such at the end of the 90 minutes.
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I still believe the coach is out of his depth and not leading our football anywhere. The only way forward is to get more of our players playing in competitive leagues outside the country. To do this we need our football to be better developed from a ground roots level. We have no proper development including our local coaches. If this does not change we will be crying for many years to come.