With a battered reputation, stalked by an awful display during the Four Nations Tournament in March this year, Malawi National Football Team, the Flames, plunges into the battle against Sao Tome and Principe in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers looking for their first win in two years at Bingu National Stadium this afternoon.
And Wednesday marked exactly two years since the Flames last beat Ethiopia 2-1 in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers courtesy of a brace from Frank Gabadinho Mhango.
Interestingly, Mhango is not part of this afternoon’s squad due to reasons best known to Flames gaffer Patrick Mabedi.
Despite the hullabaloo surrounding the omission of Mhango, this afternoon’s match is a perfect opportunity for the Flames to restore pride.
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Since June 2022, the Flames have played five matches at the venue without a win. The Flames lost 4-0 to Egypt in March last year at home–the first home defeat with a huge margin after the 3-1 loss to Cameroon in 1995 at Kamuzu Stadium.
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The defeat led to the sacking of Mario Marinica.
They also drew 1-1 against Lesotho in an international friendly match.
Then followed a 2-2 draw against Guinea in September before a 1-0 loss to Tunisia in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers. Again, the Flames were a pale of their own shadows during the Four Nations Tournament in which they lost 4-0 and 2-1 to Kenya and Zambia, respectively.
For Mabedi, this is his fourth home match in charge of the Flames.
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Probably, the Flames will be hoping to exorcise the demons that have haunted them at home.
However, this is the first meeting between the two sides in all competitions.
Ranked 125 in the world, the Flames are favourites to win this tie against Sao Tome, who are 188 in the world.
Mabedi said the Flames are in high spirits ahead of the clash.
“It is an important match and we know that we owe Malawians a lot and we need to give them a good show,’’ Mabedi said.
The Flames started the qualifiers with a 1-0 win over Liberia. Mabedi has named seven foreign country-based players in the squad.
Captain John Banda believes the team will get a positive result today.
“We have no excuse but to win against Sao Tome. We need a win to keep our dream alive,’’ he said.
Sao Tome coach Ricardo Monsanto believes they can cause an upset.
“I know the Flames are a very strong team but they sometimes have bad days. I hope it will be a bad day for Malawi and good day for us,’’ he said.
Sao Tome have lost 4-0 and 3-0 to Tunisia and Namibia in the opening two matches.
