The Comoros lost their most recent COSAFA Cup match, 2-1, to Zambia, but their coach Mohamed Bouhari is optimistic that his team can recover when they prepare to play Malawi on Tuesday afternoon at the Chatsworth Stadium.
The game will begin at 3 p.m. (SA, GMT+2)
Following a 3-0 victory against Mauritius in their 2023 COSAFA Cup debut, Comoros will enter their following match on the heels of a 2-1 defeat to Zambia.
Frederick Mulambia and Albert Kangwanda’s goals allowed Zambia to win in Durban by a score of 2-0 on Sunday at the King Zwelithini Stadium.
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Currently, Malawi leads Group B with six points, leaving Comoros in second place with three points less.
Despite their defeat against Zambia, Comoros coach Mohamed Bouhari is still confident that his team can advance from Group B.
“We know that we lost (against Zambia) but we still have a chance in the last game,” Bouhari said.
“Going into that game (against Malawi) we’ll give our best to stay in the tournament.
“We are in the most difficult group but that’s football.
“You can’t be respected in football if you don’t capitalise on what you have, I’m very proud of my team, I congratulate my team, I congratulate the staff, the players because we held Zambia while playing with a reduced number.
“We don’t regret the loss but we are capable of coming back in that third game and get the three points to end up with six.”
Malawi is the undisputed group B champion after going 3-0 in the 2023 COSAFA Cup. Malawi is only needing one more victory to advance to the tournament’s second round after victories against Zambia and the Seychelles.
The goal-scoring prowess displayed by Lanjesi Nkhoma and Christopher Kumwembe in Malawi’s 2-0 victory against Seychelles this past weekend gave them the nickname “The Flames.”
Malawi now hold the advantage over Comoros going into their upcoming match. Malawi won three of the four games between the two countries, compared to Comoros’ single victory over its opponents.
Coach Patrick Mabedi noted that his team misjudged their opponents and found it difficult to establish themselves during the match after their victory against Seychelles
“Psychologically we prepared more against Zambia,” Mabedi said.
“I think the players seemed to undermined the opponent which is something i tried to kick out of their heads
“We struggled in the first half because of our mentality that we were undermining them.
” So I’m happy we went back to our plan of keeping possession, to be patient and the chances we got, we managed to score.”