Vincent Nyangulu, Foster Bitoni in Flames squad
Malawi national football team coaching panel has included Be Forward Wanderers striker Vincent Nyangulu and Silver Strikers new signing, Foster Bitoni, in the 20-member squad that will face Zambia in a friendly Wednesday.
The Flames left Monday for Lusaka ahead of the match against the Chipolopolo at Nkoloma Stadium in preparations for back-to-back 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burkina Faso slated for this month end.
Flames Assistant Coach, Lovemore Fazili, said Nyangulu and Bitoni were included in the squad following impressive performance during training.
“We thought it wise to give them a chance to be part of the team in Zambia. We will assess them during the friendly to see if they can fit into the final squad. These guys will bring competition among the strikers in the squad,” he said.
The 20-member squad also comprises Silver attacker Duncan Nyoni and Wanderers midfielder Rafik Namwera who have not been part of the team recently.
Fazili said the players must show character and desire to play at a higher level in order to win a place in the final squad.
“It is make or break for these players,” he said. Fazili also revealed that every goalkeeper will be given game time to be assessed thoroughly.
“I will give some minutes to every goalkeeper this is the reason we have taken three goalkeepers. We have a lot of games this year so we need depth in all positions,” he said.
Flames will travel to Ouagadougou to face the Stallions on March 26 before hosting them four days later at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
Flames are third in Group B with three points from two matches whereas Uganda’s Crane lead the table with four points from the same number of games. Burkina Faso lie second with South Sudan anchoring the four member log table.
Below is the 2o member squad that will face Zambia
Goalkeepers
- Brighton Munthali
- Rabson Chiyenda
- William Thole
Defenders:
- Peter Cholopi
- Stanley Sanudi
- Nickson Nyasulu
- Precious Sambani
- Hadji Wali
- Gomezgani Chirwa
Midfielders
- Chimango Kayira
- Chikoti Chirwa
- Chimwemwe Idana
- Micium Mhone
- Peter Banda.
- Isaac Kaliati
- Raffick Namwera
- Duncan Nyoni
Strikers
- Foster Bitoni
- Vincent Nyangulu
- Hassan Kajoke
