Malawi National Football Team coach Patrick Mabedi was left ruing missed chances despite beating Sao Tome and Principe 3-1 in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers at Bingu National Stadium on Thursday.
The Flames flew out of the country Friday for another crucial assignment against Equatorial Guinea in Malabo on Monday.
In his post-match reaction, Mabedi said the Flames lacked killer instinct against Sao Tome.
“In my opinion, overall, we should score more in such games but unfortunately we missed a lot of chances. On top of that, I am disappointed that we also conceded a soft goal. In such matches, we need to come out with a clean sheet,” Mabedi said.
His comments come after he dropped striker Frank Gabadihno Mhango who enjoyed a rich vein of form in the 2023 DStv Premiership with Moroka Swallows in South Africa.
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Interestingly, the Flames have struggled for goals in all competitions for many years.
Against Sao Tome, the Flames created several scoring opportunities but were wasteful in front of goal.
Chawanangwa Kaonga, Lanjesi Nkhoma and Chifundo Mphasi scored for the Flames.
Mphasi is Flames leading goal scorer in the World Cup qualifiers with two goals in three matches.
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The youngster scored in a 1-0 victory over Liberia in November last year.
Sports analyst Parry Chinyama said the Flames failed to take advantage of Sao Tome’s weaknesses to record a historic victory.
“I would agree with Mabedi that our players failed to use their advantage on Sao Tome. This is a weaker side and we should have had more than four goals. This is a reflection of our poor striking force. The coach needs to work of shooting practice to improve this,” Chinyama said.
Group H is wide open after three matches. Tunisia lead the group with nine points after winning all the three matches whereas Namibia are second with seven points from the same number of matches.
The Flames are third in the group with six points whereas Liberia are fourth with four points. Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome are bottom without a point. Guinea were deducted six points for featuring an ineligible player Emilio Nsue.
