* The Carthage Eagles were frustrated for much of the match by a well-drilled Malawi defence and needed late interventions to secure all three points
* Seifeddine Jaziri, came off the bench in the 78th minute to head in the opener just eight minutes of his being on the field
* Jaziri connected a cross to beat goalkeeper William Thole, “who had been outstanding throughout the contest”
Maravi Express
Malawi has been described as “a stubborn” side by holding African football giants, Tunisia up to the 86th minute when Seifeddine Jaziri came off the bench in the 78th minute to head in the opener just eight minutes of his being on the field.
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CAFonline reports the Carthage Eagles were frustrated for much of the second leg match of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifier “by a well-drilled Malawi defence and needed late interventions to secure all three points”.
“Jaziri came off the bench to break Malawi’s resistance with a headed goal in the 86th minute, before Elias Achouri sealed the victory with a stoppage-time penalty.”
CAFonline further says introduced in the 78th minute by Tunisia head coach Sami Trabelsi, Jaziri took just eight minutes to justify his selection, connecting with a cross to beat goalkeeper William Thole, “who had been outstanding throughout the contest”.
Achouri’s penalty in the 92nd minute put the result beyond doubt after Malawi, desperate to rescue a point, conceded a foul in the box.
“There was still late drama as Malawi were awarded a penalty deep into added time, but Aymen Dahmen guessed correctly to deny Richard Mbulu from the spot,” reports CAFonline.
The win tightens Carthage Eagles’ grip at the top of Group H with 16 points, four ahead of second-placed Namibia who were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea earlier in the day.
The Brave Warriors, buoyed by a narrow win over Malawi on Thursday at Bingu National Stadium, were hoping to keep pace with Tunisia, while Equatorial Guinea entered the clash fresh from a 2-0 win over São Tomé e Príncipe.
CAFonline reports that but despite both teams’ strong recent form, the first half at Orlando Stadium offered little in the way of quality finishing in which Namibia created the better chances early on but were left frustrated by a well-organised Equatorial Guinea defence and a lack of precision in the final third.
The game witnessed a drastically different second half, as the contest came alive within minutes of the restart and Namibia broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Deon Hotto whipped in a teasing free-kick that was expertly volleyed home by Peter Shalulile, who found himself unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box.
However, their lead was short-lived as just three minutes later, Equatorial Guinea hit back through defender Saúl Coco, who lashed in the equaliser after Esteban Orozco picked him out in space.
The game against Namibia on Thursday
Meanwhile, when head coach, Kalisto Pasuwa was being unveiled from being interim coach to a permanent job, he was given the target of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) 2027 finals — while winning three of the remaining six FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers.
Now he has four remaining as second legs — away against Namibia in September, and between October and November at home against Liberia, São Tomé e Príncipe and Equatorial Guinea.
The Flames have six points from the two wins against Liberia 1-0 and São Tomé 3-1 while losing 0-1 to Tunisia in first leg at home, also 0-1 to Equatorial Guinea away and Thursday’s 0-1 loss to Namibia.
Pasuwa also has the target to qualify for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) to be held in August whose final round of qualification will be against South Africa in May.
Under Pasuwa, Malawi qualified for the final round having beaten Comoros 2-0 in each of the legs and these were four positive results under the Zimbabwean mentor after leading the team to 0-0 draw against Burundi and 3-0 win over Burkina Faso last November in the ceremonial AfCON Morocco 2025 qualifiers.
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