Malawi suffer late Eswatini sucker punch in AFCON qualifier

Malawi’s U-23 football team, the Junior Flames, suffered a narrow 1–0 defeat to Eswatini U-23 in the first leg of the AFCON U-23 qualifiers on Tuesday afternoon at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.

The match produced few clear-cut chances, with both sides struggling to break the deadlock during the first half. Despite making several attempts on goal, neither team could find the finishing touch as the opening 45 minutes ended goalless.

Eswatini eventually broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute through Sibonelo Vlakati, who unleashed a well-struck effort from the edge of the penalty area. The shot flew directly into the roof of the net, giving the visitors a 1–0 lead.

The Junior Flames pushed for an equaliser but could not find a way past the Eswatini defence before the final whistle, leaving Malawi with a narrow deficit to overturn in the second leg.

“It’s not over yet until we go back to the second leg, we will go back to our drawing board and see where we can do better,” Bob Mpinganjira who is the head coach for Malawi said.

The two teams will meet again in the return leg on 6 October 2026, when Malawi will need to score to keep their hopes of progressing in the AFCON U-23 qualifiers alive.