Malawi National Football Team steps onto the Bingu National Stadium turf in Lilongwe hoping for a perfect takeoff against South Sudan in the 2027 Pamoja Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers this evening from 6pm.
There are 21 slots up for grabs at the finals with Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya having already sealed their places as co-hosts.
Having missed the last two editions in Ivory Coast and Morocco, the Flames are hoping to make their fourth appearance at the continental showpiece finals.
The Flames have been drawn in Group B alongside seven-time African champions Egypt, Angola and South Sudan.
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A win for the Flames would be a statement of intent in their bid to qualify for the finals.
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Malawi go into the battle with their reputation battered and bruised after a five-match winless run.
Their last win was a 1-0 victory over Lesotho in the international friendly against Lesotho before a goalless stalemate against the same side at Toyota Stadium in South Africa.
Since then, they lost 9-8 to Zambia on postmatch penalties in a Four Nations tournament before enduring a 1-0 loss to hosts Botswana in the third-place play off.
Then followed a 1-0 defeat to Ethiopia and a 1-1 stalemate in Addis Ababa in June this year.
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In the last five matches, Malawi have managed to score just one goal and are yet to win a match this year.
South Sudan, on the other hand, sneaked into the Afcon qualifiers phase after thrashing Djibouti 4-1 on aggregate.
They have been inconsistent having won only once in five matches with a 2-0 loss to Syria, a barren draw with Togo and a 5-0 home defeat to Senegal.
Malawi and South Sudan are familiar foes in the Afcon matches having met during the 2021 qualifiers.
The Flames won both home and away fixtures by 1-0 margins. The six points helped Malawi to qualify for their third Afcon finals with 10 points after beating Uganda 1-0.
Flames coach Kalisto Pasuwa warned his charges against underrating the visitors.
“In these games, we are playing with the mind if we meet the so-called small teams. Those are teams that are dangerous to me. We need to approach the match with a positive mind,” Pasuwa said.
The Flames will be without Richard Mbulu and Jordan Kananga due to groin and ankle injuries, respectively.
South Sudan coach N’sengi-Biembe said they are prepared.
“We are going to adapt as we always do. We trust the players’ quality and we think we are going to have a good game,” he said.
The Flames will travel to Luanda for the second match against Angola on October 6.
