Saintfiet names Malawi squad for Cosafa, hails Kinnah
New Malawi expatriate coach Tom Saintfiet has named a 20-man squad for the 2013 Cosafa tournament currently underway in Zambia.
The squad with most players used by assistant coach Edington Ng’onamo in his squad that is set to leave Wednesday for Lusaka has the inclusion of Mozambique based Flames captain Joseph Kamwendo.
The coach has also included Mozambique based goalkeeper Simplex Nthala, defender Moses Chavula and striker Chiukepo Msowoya in the squad that faces Zimbabwe in the quarterfinals this Saturday.
Chavula, Msowoya and Kamwendo were part of the Flames that played against Namibia and Kenya in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers last month but Nthala returns after being sidelined by an injury which created goalkeeping crisis for the Flames.
South Africa based professional Jimmy Zakazaka and James Sangala, who has been offloaded from his Angolan club Benfica de Luanda have also been drafted into the team.
Announcing his squad during a news conference in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Saintfiet announced that as of now he will be the sole spokesperson for the Flames.
“To avoid confusion I will be the only person speaking on behalf of the national team. We are just trying to be professional in the way information is released. I will be free to take any questions from reporters and I promise not to hide information,” he said.
Kinnah Good
During the news conference, the coach paid tribute to former Malawi head coach Kinnah Phiri.
“Kinnah is a fantastic coach,” said Saintfait.
He, however, spoke highly of his assistants, Eddie Ng’onamo and Patrick Mabedi describing them as “ top coaches.”
And on soccer legend Ernest Mtawali who has been dropped as assistant coach because of his hiring, Saintfait said: “ I am sure Ernest is a gooach coach.”
The full squad of the team is as follows;
Goalkeepers: Simplex Nthala, Owen Chaima
Defenders: Moses Chavula, James Sangala, Bongani Kaipa, George Nyirenda, John Lanjesi, Douglas Chirambo,
Midfielders: Dave Banda, Frank Banda, Joseph Kamwendo, Micium Mhone, Chimango Kayira, Young Junior Chimodzi, , Fischer Kondowe, Ndaziona Chatsalira.
Strikers: Gastin Simkonda, Chiukepo Msowoya, Jimmy Zakazaka, Boniface Kaulesi.
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