Cameroon National Football Team Coach Antonio ‘Toni’ Conceiçao has described Malawi as a team that will be in Yaounde to complicate life and cause problems for the hosts.
Malawi and Cameroon will lock horns in a Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 Group D qualifier on September 3.
In preparation for the opening match, the Indomitable Lions have called up 28 players for camp training.
The squad includes goalkeeper Narcisse Nlend and striker Lambert Areina of local giants Coton Sport de Garoua, who made it to the semi-finals of the Caf Confederation Cup.
Conceiçao is quoted by cafonline.com as telling a press conference in Yaounde that the Flames are theoretically weaker than Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon but are very strong physically.
“The first game that concerns me is Malawi. This is a team that is theoretically weaker than Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, but which comes to Yaounde to complicate things for us, to cause us problems. It’s a team that is very strong physically, that gives everything, fights for all the balls.
“We will have to put a tactical strategy with the creativity of our players to make the difference. Nowadays there are no easy matches. A lot of difficulties are expected against Malawi, Mozambique and Cote d’Ivoire. But we are prepared and ready to go into battle,” Conceiçao is quoted as saying.
But former Malawi coach Eddington Ng’onamo said Conceiçao was playing a psychological game.
“We should not believe him. He is only trying to make us complacent. He will trick us into believing that we will have it easy in Yaounde while the opposite is true.
“The Cameroonians know what they are doing and we should not pay attention to their claims. We should prepare our players physically, psychologically and morally so that they get the result in Yaounde,” Ng’onamo said.
Flames coach Meck Mwase has assembled a 25- man preliminary squad that commenced training on Wednesday in Blantyre.
Malawi-based players re-grouped without Nyasa Big Bullets players who are expected to join camp this evening after their team’s TNM Super League match against Red Lions.
Malawi and Cameroon last met in October 2018 in two back-to-back African Cup of Nations qualifiers with the Lions winning the home encounter 1-0 while the return match ended goalless at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
