Malawi National Football Team, the Flames, coach Patrick Mabedi has said the Four Nations tournament will be a perfect opportunity to assess some players as part of preparations for the upcoming 2026 Fifa World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers later this year.
Mabedi announced his final squad Friday at Mpira Village for the tournament involving hosts Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya slated for next week at Bingu National Stadium.
He has included Cambridge United (England) centre back Jubril Okedina, Takondwa Maosa of Brentwood Town FC (England) and Henri Kumwenda of Butler Men’s Soccer (England).
“I do my research and I also follow football. I have heard about the players for some time. We thought of bringing them here so that we can see them during the tournament. We cannot just see them in big tournaments like World Cup and Afcon but the Four Nations Tournament is an opportunity to assess if they can match into what we want,” Mabedi said.
For Okedina and Maosa, this is maiden call up whereas Kumwenda was included in the provisional squad for the 2021 delayed Afcon finals in Cameroon but did not make the final squad.
Mabedi said the three players feature in strategic positions for which he is desperate to find good players.
“Okedina is a central defender, Maosa is an attacking midfielder while Kumwenda is a striker so we thought of bringing them to see if they are better than what we already have,” he said.
South Africa based striker Frank Gabadinho Mhango has also returned to Flames fold after missing two World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Tunisia.
Goalkeeper Brighton Munthali, Chawanangwa Kaonga, Chifundo Mphasi, John Banda and Lloyd Njaliwa are also in the final squad.
However, Kamuzu Barracks striker Olson Kanjira, who started in two matches against Liberia and Tunisia, has been excluded.
According to Mabedi, he expects to have a full squad by Tuesday next week.
The Flames will face Kenya on Thursday whereas Zambia will meet Zimbabwe.
The winners will progress to the final slated for March 26 whereas the losers will meet on the same day.
Sports analyst George Kaudza-Masina said the inclusion of Europe-based players might be a gamble.
“For the locals and the already tried and tested professionals, merit is at play. But Mabedi, being a professional he is, let us trust his choice that he has been monitoring these youngsters,” he said.
Another analyst, Parry Chinyama said Mabedi has assembled a good squad.
“A well balanced squad and it is my expectation that this will be a future team. My only worry is that Malawi lacks consistency,” Chinyama said.
All the four teams participating in the tournament are preparing for their World Cup and the Afcon qualifiers.
The Flames are in Group H of the World Cup qualifiers. They defeated Liberia 1-0 before losing by a similar margin to Tunisia in the second game.
