The Malawi Under-20 Men’s National Football Team staged a late comeback to beat Comoros 2-1 in their final Group C match at the COSAFA Under-20 Tournament in Maputo, Mozambique, but the victory was not enough to secure a place in the semi-finals.
The Junior Flames finished second in Group C with six points after victories over Botswana and Comoros, having lost their opening match to Zambia.
Malawi, however, missed out on progressing as one of the best runners-up, with Angola and Mozambique finishing with superior goal differences. Head coach Enos Chatama retained the starting XI that defeated Botswana, and Malawi started brightly, creating several opportunities in the opening 15 minutes.
Comoros gradually settled into the contest and took the lead in the 23rd minute when their attacker dribbled past Felix Jalasi before weaving through the Malawi defence and finishing past the goalkeeper.
Chatama responded by introducing Lameck Mithi and Austin Yasin for Jalasi and Clever Kalambo, but Malawi went into the half-time break trailing 1-0. The Junior Flames continued searching for a way back into the match after the restart, with Madalitso Safuli and Mwisho Mhango later making way for Kenneth Mwale and Grant Chibalo.
Malawi’s persistence eventually paid off in the closing stages when Comoros goalkeeper Fayyad Hamza failed to keep out an effort and turned the ball into his own net to level the scores. The equaliser gave the Junior Flames renewed belief before Yasin completed the comeback with the winning goal to make it 2-1.
Despite the victory, Malawi could not score the number of goals required to improve their goal difference and secure progression to the semi-finals, bringing their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations to an end. Chatama welcomed the victory but admitted there was disappointment within the camp after missing out on qualification.
“We are happy we have won, although we are not satisfied with going back home as we are entirely out of the race for the semi-finals. Angola and Mozambique have superior goal differences in spite of all of us having six points,” said Chatama.
The coach said the size of the victory Malawi required made the task difficult for his charges.
“The boys looked to have already given up on the match because we needed to score seven goals and they deemed that impossible. Nevertheless, we have won, but not by the margins to keep us in contention,” he said.
Chatama also identified finishing as one of the major areas that Malawi need to improve following the tournament.
“We created a lot of chances, but sadly we could not convert them. Surely, that has been a big problem in our campaign, but we need to fix this issue back home in Malawi,” he said.
Reflecting on the campaign, Chatama said the opening defeat to Zambia ultimately left the Junior Flames with a difficult task in their remaining matches.
“Malawi has won two games against Botswana and Comoros but lost our opening match against Zambia. In these tournaments, you need to win the first game so as to grind results later on,” he said.
The Junior Flames leave the tournament with two victories from three matches, with missed opportunities and goal difference ultimately proving costly in their bid to reach the semi-finals.
