* With 6 points from 4 matches and 6 remaining, can he turn the tables of Group H being led by Tunisia at 10 points?
* Followed by Equatorial Guinea as runners-up with 9 points and Namibia on 4th with 5 points?
* The top team from each of the nine groups after Match Day 10 shall earn an automatic qualification
* The four best second-placed and top ranked teams from all nine groups will engage in a continental playoff
Analysis by Duncan Mlanjira
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president, when unveiling former Nyasa Big Bullets mentor, Kalisto Pasuwa as the permanent Flames coach, declared that the Zimbabwe Warriors mentor has a lot to offer to make Malawi a dominant figure in international football.
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Pasuwa showed it when he was engaged as interim coach alongside former Silver Strikers mentor, Peter Mponda to guide the Flames to two remaining ceremonial qualifiers of the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Morocco 2025, in which he guided the team to a draw 0-0 with Burundi away and winning 3-0 against Burkina Faso at home.
When unveiling him yesterday, Haiya indicated that FAM expects Pasuwa to lead the Flames to the AfCON 2027 as top priority target while winning, at least, three of the six of the remaining qualifiers of the World Cup 2026™.
Before Pasuwa can target the AfCON 2027, his immediate challenge is just to make an impact in the next top assignments of Group H FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers, starting with Namibia at home on March 17.
With 6 points from 4 matches played of two wins and two losses under former coach Patrick Mebedi, the Flames are third on the Group H standings, being led by Tunisia at 10 points, followed by Equatorial Guinea as runners-up with 9 points and Namibia on 4th with 5 points.
The other two teams are Liberia on 5th with 4 points and São Tomé e Principe at the bottom without a point.
As a recap, the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ finals — to be hosted jointly by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada — will have 48 participating countries instead of the conventional 32 giving an advantage for Africa to field more teams (10).
The top team from each of the nine groups after Match Day 10 in October 2025 shall earn an automatic qualification — while the four best second-placed and top ranked teams from all nine groups will engage in a continental playoff, determining a single victor who will then proceed to a second and final playoff.
This final stage will comprise six teams from various confederations, with the top two emerging as qualified participants, ultimately making up the 48 competing teams.
The qualifying matches started in November 2023 in which the Flames beat Liberia 1-0 away, lost 0-1 to Tunisia at home and beat São Tomé 3-1 before losing 0-1 to Equatorial Guinea.
Against Equatorial Guinea
Now the FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers resume with the Flames hosting Namibia on March 17 before traveling to Tunisia to play against the Carthage Eagles on March 24 and to Windhoek for Namibia on September 1 for the second leg.
The other second legs are qualifiers are against Liberia, São Tomé and Equatorial Guinea between October and November 2025.
Since the target is the AfCON 2027, to be jointly hosted by the East African duo of Uganda and Tanzania, Pasuwa has the opportunity to build a stronger squad through the remaining FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers, which are against very strong opponents — especially Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Liberia.
The fellow Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) member, Namibia should also be regarded with some esteem as they have also gained much strength over the years.
Pasuwa took over in the interim after coach Patrick Mabedi was fired over poor results in the AfCON 2025 qualifiers, having being eliminated following 2-3 loss to Burundi; 1-3 to Burkina Faso and back-to-back 0-4 and 0-1 losses against Senegal away and at home turf Bingu National Stadium respectively.
Pasuwa in the I nterim alongside Peter Mponda
Pasuwa and his assistants in the interim, Peter Mponda and Pritchard Mwansa, gave the Flames a new breath of life to draw 0-0 draw against Burundi away and winning 3-0 at home — and now all eyes will be on him if indeed he can make Malawi a dominant figure in international football, as alluded to by FAM president Haiya.
”We all know what Pasuwa has achieved (locally and internationally), and it cannot be disputed that he has been one of the best performers in our football,” he is quoted as saying by Fam.mw. “As FAM, we followed our processes and procedures and after consultations and recommendations from our stakeholders, we have settled for Pasuwa.
“It was not a difficult choice for Pasuwa considering that we have tested him in the previous games when he was a caretaker. He is now a full-time coach, and we will give him all the support for him to help us achieve our ambitions.”
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The FAM boss added that while it is a must for Pasuwa to lead the Flames to the AfCON 2027 as his number one target, his other mission is to build a very competitive squad team for the Uganda and Tanzania AfCON — through the remaining six matches remaining of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers to win at least three games.
Haiya added that since the COSAFA Cup is a developmental competition, Pasuwa should aim at winning it in the next two years while no targets have been not set for African Nations Championship (CHAN), which is only for domestic league based players.
On his part, Pasuwa is quoted by Fam.mw as saying it is an honor for him to be considered for the opportunity, adding that he is ready for the challenge: ”I am filled with a sense of pride, passion and responsibility. I am committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that our team represent our national dignity, pride and dedication and success.
”My coaching philosophy is built on principles of teamwork, discipline and hard work. I believe that by working together, we can achieve greatness. My goal is to create a strong team and culture that is built on trust and respect and communication.
“In the short term, our goal is to do well like the president said in the upcoming tournaments like CHAN and remaining World Cup qualifiers. In the long term we aim to establish ourselves as one of the top teams on the continent and world at large by, among other things, scouting and developing world class players that can compete at bigger stages.
”I am committed to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure that we all work towards the common goals,” he said, adding that he has been in Malawi for some years now, and knows the culture and what Malawian players need — which gives him an advantage.
Pasuwa and his charges at Bullets winning the quadruple in 2023
“I have been in these shoes before with Zimbabwe and we qualified to AFCON in 2017 and it is my hope that if we work together, we can achieve the target of going to AfCON 2027,” he is quoted as saying.
Pasuwa, who will name his backroom staff in due course, had a whirlwind six-year stint with Nyasa Bullets in which he led the People’s Team to an unprecedented five TNM Super League titles (2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2022 and 2023).
In 2023, he completed it with a historical quadruple of titles — the FDH Bank Cup, the inaugural Castel Challenge Cup, the Airtel Top 8 and the TNM Super League — that earned the Zimbabwean the Non-Citizen of the Year accolade a recognition in the Malawi Sport Award 2023.
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