Malawi National Football Team, the Flames, have secured two international friendly matches against Ethiopia as part of preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The Kalisto Pasuwa coached side will face Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on Saturday, 6 June 2026, before meeting again in a second friendly on Tuesday, 9 June 2026.
Pasuwa is expected to announce his squad for the two matches on Thursday, 28 May, with camp set to begin on 1 June 2026. The Flames coach described the matches as crucial in sharpening the team ahead of the upcoming AFCON qualification campaign.
“We want to assess our mindset as both the technical team and players. We must not treat these as just friendly matches. We need to have the right mentality to win games, and we must be aggressive,” said Pasuwa.
He added that the games will also help address key tactical areas, particularly in attack.
“These two games are very important because we want to test more players and fill some gaps. Offensively, we are still struggling, and we want to improve our ability to penetrate opponents. Playing teams like Ethiopia will help us evaluate that,” he said.
The last meeting between Malawi and Ethiopia came during the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, which ended in a goalless draw. In the previous eight meetings between the two sides, Malawi have won three matches, Ethiopia have won one, while four games have ended in draws.
