Malawi Under-20 National Football Team made a dream start to the Four Nations Tournament on home soil with a 3-2 beating of Zimbabwe at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe Wednesday.
In front of a noisy home crowd, the Young Flames displayed a spirited performance in the opening match to snatch the full three points from the visitors.
This means Malawi are in pole position to win the tournament if they beat Kenya in their last game on Sunday.
The East Africans will line up against Zimbabwe Friday after resting Thursday.
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Emmanuel Saviel was the hero of the day for hosts Malawi after he scored a brace in the second half.
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The Young Flames’ Madalitso Safuli took the honour of scoring the opening goal of the match in the 31st minute but Zimbabwe pulled level through Denzel Mapuwa ten minutes later.
The two teams tried their best to break the deadlock but the half time whistle found them still tied at 1-1.
After recess, Saviel restored Malawi’s lead in the 57th minute before netting again a minute later to complete his brace.
But Mapuwa returned to haunt the Young Flames again with his and Zimbabwe’s second goal in 63rd minute.
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The goal changed the tempo of the game with Zimbabwe fighting hard to get the equaliser but it never came as Malawi were resolute in keeping their opponents at bay at the back.
The senior men’s tournament kicks off on Saturday at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe with Zimbabwe and Zambia getting the action underway with a scintillating showdown in an early kickoff before paving the way for Malawi and Kenya at the same venue.
The winners will meet in the final on Tuesday whereas the losers will also face-off for third place on the same day.
The four teams are using the tournament as part of preparations for the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
Malawi are in Group H of the World Cup qualifiers alongside Tunisia, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and Sao Tome and Principe.
The Flames started the tournament with a 1-0 win over Liberia in Monrovia but lost by a similar margin to Tunisia at home.
