Malawi Under-20 National Football Team will hope for a good start when they face South Africa in their opener at the ongoing TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon)/Cosafa Qualifier at ABB Stadium 2 in Maputo, Mozambique, this afternoon.
The two sides met during the 2022 U-20 Cosafa Championship, when the junior Flames triumphed 2-0 in eSwatini.
However, the junior Flames will be hoping to deal with fatigue, having travelled to Maputo by road. The Flames arrived in Maputo on Wednesday after spending two days in transit.
This means the junior Flames had one full training session for the past five days.
But coach Bob Mpinganjira is confident that the side had adequate preparations ahead of the match.
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“All the players are eager to play against South Africa. We had a loosening session on Wednesday before a full training at the match venue,” Mpinganjira said.
The Mighty Mukuru Wanderers assistant coach said he has done good homework.
“We have seen some clips and we studied them. We will try to plan for them and close them down where they have the strength. Overall, we are ready for them,” Mpinganjira said.
The team has received a huge boost following the arrival of US-based striker Adiel Kaduya Thursday. The former Silver Strikers forward could lead the frontline in today’s match.
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However, Mpinganjira has assembled a good squad which comprises the Ascent Soccer Academy duo of Mwisho Mhango and Hermasi Masinja, who are currently on loan in Iceland.
The junior Flames will face Comoros and Lesotho in their last group stages matches.
On the other hand, South Africa U-20 coach Raymond Mdaka has assembled a strong squad which comprises Shadre Campbell (Club NXT, Belgium), Fletcher Smthye-Lowe (Astoria Praia, Portugal) and Mamelodi Sundowns striker Siyabonga Mabena.
“We are grateful to all the clubs who have released their players and we will ensure that we accomplish the mission at hand,” Mdaka said.
Two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
They will be joined by the overall runners-up. The champions and the runners-up will qualify for Afcon finals whose semi-finalists will book tickets to the U-20 World Cup finals.
Malawi has never won the regional showpiece but finished as runners-up when they lost to Zambia in 2003. They finished fourth three times in 2000, 2006 and 2011.
The team qualified for the Afcon U-20 but lost all the three matches in the group stages in Ethiopia in 1999
