The Malawi National Football Team, the Flames, will be looking for a positive start to their 2027 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign when they host South Sudan in their Group B opener at Bingu National Stadium on Friday.
A victory in the opening match would give the Flames an important start in their quest to qualify for next year’s finals, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Malawi and South Sudan previously met during the 2021 AFCON qualifiers, with the Flames winning both home and away matches 1-0. Malawi went on to finish second in the group with 10 points and qualified for the finals in Cameroon.
At the tournament, the Flames made history by reaching the Round of 16 for the first time. Malawi, however, missed out on the subsequent two editions. They finished third behind Egypt and Guinea in the qualifiers for the 2023 finals before finishing bottom of Group L with four points behind Senegal, Burkina Faso and Burundi in the 2025 qualifying campaign.
There is renewed belief in the Flames camp as they begin another qualification campaign under head coach Kalisto Pasuwa.
Pasuwa said most of his charges are ready for the South Sudan encounter, with both experienced players and new faces showing determination in training.
“Overall, most of the guys are ready. Even in central midfield, we have some youngsters like Blessings Kanowa, who is also doing very well in the training sessions,” said Pasuwa.
“You can see they are eager to play, and the senior guys like Lloyd Njaliwa are also ready.”
The Flames coach, however, revealed injury concerns involving Richard Mbulu and Jorden Kananga.
“We have Richard Mbulu, who has a groin injury. It is an old injury from his club, and our medics have been in touch on how best we can manage him. Then we have Jorden Kananga, who has an ankle sprain,” he said.
Pasuwa has warned his charges against underrating South Sudan, stressing the importance of maintaining the right mentality and tactical discipline throughout the encounter.
“In these games, we have to play with the right mindset. When you meet the so-called small teams, those are the teams that can be dangerous,” he said.
“So we need to work on our mindset as much as we can, and the approach should be very positive in whatever we do.”
Pasuwa also called on Malawians to turn up in large numbers at Bingu National Stadium and give the team maximum support, particularly the new players who are experiencing the national team environment.
“What I can say to the fans is that they should come in numbers. We have some boys coming in who are unfamiliar with the Malawi environment. Let us encourage them the same way we encouraged Charles Petro,” he said.
The South Sudan match will be followed by an away assignment against Angola as the Flames look to make a strong start to their Group B campaign.
