Malawi National Football Team Coach Patrick Mabedi has said his charges showed great character despite suffering a 1-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers in Malabo on Monday.
The Flames conceded in the 81st minute as Ivan Salvador pounced on a loose free-kick.
In a post-match interview, Mabedi said despite the defeat, there were some positives from the match.
“It is very painful that we lost the match but the boys worked hard. There are several positives from the match. For instance, goalkeeper George Chikooka was outstanding,” Mabedi said.
The defeat means the Flames are on position four in Group H with six points, four points behind leaders Tunisia and two points behind second-placed Namibia.
- Advertisement -
Mabedi said the defeat to Equatorial Guinea was a wake-up call to the Flames.
“We know what went wrong and we just need to correct the mistakes and move forward,” he said.
The Flames defeated Sao Tome and Principe 3-1 at Bingu National Stadium last week.
Sports analyst Sherry Msuku said the Flames should not lose hope.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
“We have six matches remaining in the qualifiers; so, we just need to make sure that we win home matches,” Msuku said of the Flames, who have three home matches against Liberia, Equatorial Guinea and Namibia. They will travel to Tunisia, Sao Tome and Namibia.
Malawi started the World Cup qualifiers with a 1-0 win over Liberia but lost to Tunisia by a similar margin.
