Malawi and Zambia are familiar foes in international football and, this afternoon, they renew their rivalry when they meet in a Four Nations Tournament third-place play-off at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
The two teams will go into the tie with their tails tucked after they lost their respective matches on Saturday.
The Flames were embarrassed 4-0 by Kenya’s Harambe Stars in front of the home crowd whereas Zambia lost 6-5 to Zimbabwe on post-match penalties.
The clash between the two neighbours has probably come too early as their wounds are still leaking following their defeats.
However, this is a perfect chance to restore pride in African football.
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The rivalry between Zambia and Malawi dates back to 1964. Since then, Malawi have won 22 games, lost 39 and drawn 11 matches against Zambia in all competitions.
Malawi and Zambia last met during the 2023 Cosafa Men’s Championship in Durban, South Africa, where the Flames triumphed 1-0.
In the last 10 matches, Malawi have won five, lost four and drawn once.
Both teams would be cautious heading into the tie. A defeat in today’s match will be the third consecutive loss for the Flames, having lost 1-0 to Tunisia in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
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Flames coach Patrick Mabedi will be hoping that his troops will finish the inaugural Four Nations Tournament on a high.
Ahead of this afternoon’s match, Mabedi was optimistic that the Flames would fight for the Malawi badge.
“We expect another tough match against Zambia. We have done our homework and we will play to win the match,” Mabedi said.
Mabedi, who attributed the 4-0 humiliating defeat to Kenya to being inactive, has promised to make changes to his starting line-up this afternoon.
“Injuries to Silver Strikers left back Tatenda M’balaka and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets full-back Alick Lungu were a big setback as I was forced to improvise attacker Wisdom Mpinganjira to play at the back following Joseph Balakasi’s dismal performance,” he said.
On the part of Zambia, coach Avram Grant will also hope that his boys will bounce back quickly.
“We are prepared to face Malawi and we need to be courageous enough. We gave up a 2-0 lead and it was frustrating. We will up our game to get a good result,” Grant said.
The Chipolopolo have also brought a strong team, which includes Leicester City forward Patson Daka and Stoppila Sunzu.
The Four Nations Tournament will come to an end with a final match between Zimbabwe’s Warriors and Harambee Stars.
The winner of the tie will be crowned champions of the inaugural Four Nations Tournament.
All the four teams used the tournament as part of preparations for 2026 Fifa World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.
The Flames are in Group H alongside Tunisia, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia and Sao Tome and Principle.
Malawi have three points after beating Liberia 1-0 but lost to Tunisia by a similar margin.
Head to head:
2003: Malawi 0 Zambia 1
2003: Malawi 1- Zambia 1 (Chipolopolo won on penalties)
2004: Zambia 0 Zambia 2
2005: Zambia 2 Malawi 1
2006: Malawi 0 Zambia 0
2012: Malawi 1 Zambia 0
2015: Zambia 0 Malawi 1
2019: Zambia 2 Malawi 2 (Zambia won 4-2 on penalties)
2023: Zambia 0 Malawi 1
