The Malawi National Football Team, the Flames, step onto the National Stadium turf with a mission to repair their bruised and battered ego when they face Burkina Faso in a dead-rubber TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier this afternoon.
Having lost four consecutive matches in the qualifiers, the Flames earned their first point in the Afcon qualifiers following a goal-less draw with Burundi in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast, on Thursday.
Surely, it has been a campaign that Flames players would quickly want to forget as the Flames turned into punching bags on the continent, having lost four consecutive matches in five encounters.
The Flames desperately need to win to gain some atonement for the disappointment of having failed to progress to the Afcon finals.
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But the odds are stacked against the Flames, having failed to beat Burkina Faso in the last seven matches since 2000.
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The Stallions have won five matches and registered two draws against Malawi.
Malawi and Burkina Faso drew 1-1 in 2000 before the Stallions beat the Flames 4-2 in 2001.
The two sides were in the same group during the 2021 Afcon qualifiers but the Flames lost 3-1 away before settling for a goal-less stalemate at Kamuzu Stadium.
Before 2021, they were in the same group in the 2009 Fifa World Cup qualifiers and the Flames lost by 1-0 margins in both fixtures.
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The last meeting was in September when the Flames lost 3-1 in Bamako, Mali, this year.
This match is vital for Flames interim coach Kalisto Pasuwa, who needs to prove that he is the right man for the job, having replaced Patrick Mabedi.
“A win or draw will be okay for us. We have been watching Burkina Faso and we also have a data analyst who has given us information about how they play,” Pasuwa said.
Without the suspended trio of captain John Banda, Dennis Chembezi and Macdonald Lameck, Pasuwa will be forced to make some adjustments to the starting line-up which played against Burundi in Abidjan on Thursday.
Pasuwa, while admitting that it would be a challenge, observed that he had several options.
“We called 23 players who are in a camp and everyone should prove himself that he wants to be part of the team,’’ he said.
Gomezgani Chirwa, Nickson Mwase and Lloyd Aaron could start today’s match.
Frank Gabadinho Mhango, Richard Mbulu and Lanjesi Nkhoma are also likely to start the match.
Malawi and Burkina Faso are separated by 72 places on Fifa rankings, with the Stallions on 62 whereas the Flames are 134 in the world.
On the other hand, The Stallions boast of a lot of quality in their squad.
Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba, Benfica defender Issa Kabore, strikers Dango Ouattara of English Premiership side Bournemouth, Bertrand Traore of Ajax, Trova Boni, Sancha Banse and Hassane Bande are available for this afternoon’s clash.
Malawi anchor Group L with one point from five matches.
Senegal and Burkina Faso already qualified for the Afcon finals with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.
Burundi are third with four points.
Head to Head
2000: Malawi 1 Burkina Faso1
2001: Burkina Faso 4 Malawi 2
2009: Malawi 0 Burkina Faso 1
2009: Burkina Faso 1 Malawi 0
2020: Malawi 0 Burkina Faso 0
2020: Burkina Faso 3 Malawi 1
2024: Burkina Faso 3 Malawi 1
