* Next date defending champions Angola who beat Lesotho 4-0 in earlier Group B encounter leading with 4 points
* Lesotho are second with 3 points they took off the Flames in first group game on Thursday
* Only consolation was never tiring Wisdom Mpinganjira voted Player of the Match
By Duncan Mlanjira
Despite enjoying good ball possession, overall at 53%, the Flames could not once more translate the dominance into a more positive result as they drew 0-0 with Namibia in the second group game of COSASA Cup 2025 in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
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They have just earned a single point in two games having been beaten 1-0 by Lesotho on Thursday in the opening Group B while Namibia have 2 points after drawing 1-1 with defending champions Angola in first game.
Lesotho, who lost 0-4 to Angola in the earlier Group B match, are second with 3 points and their next game will be against Namibia on Tuesday as the Flames will be facing Angola in the fight for the quarterfinals.
The only consolation for the Flames this afternoon was Wisdom Mpinganjira being voted as Player of the Match, whom TV commentators described as a never-tiring workhorse amongst all players.
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They played 6 corners against Namibia 4 but the opponents defended all set pieces so well and managed to earn a 47% ball possession.
Even if the Flames beat Angola on Tuesday to earn four points, the result between Lesotho and Namibia will play a huge part — with Lesotho earning 6 points in case of a win and 4 for a draw.
For Namibia a win will earn them 5 points and 3 for a draw.
Ahead of the match, assistant coach, Peter Mponda assured Malawian fans that the Flames were ready to redeem themselves against Namibia insisting the players are better prepared this time around after the bitter 0-1 loss to Lesotho — another game they dominated possession but were caught on the back foot with just over six minutes left.
He indicated that having reviewed the loss to Lesotho on video and analysed the game thoroughly, one thing that was picked up clearly was the players’ lack of presence in the box.
In that game, the Flames dominated possession of the ball, especially just knocking the ball amongst each other in midfield and Mponda said: “In football, dominating possession doesn’t win you games — you need to get into the box and score goals.“
Though there were change of tactics, the Flames couldn’t create the chances despite Namibia playing with a man down through a red card in later stages of the match.
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This was Namibia 7th match unbeaten six of which have now ended in draws with their only win in that stretch coming against Malawi during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers in Lilongwe.
In that FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, the Flames also dominated possession but lost 0-1. They next meet in September for the second leg.
