By Duncan Mlanjira
South Sudan ?? coach Ashy Cyprian Besong says they will be wary of Malawi ?? since this will their game against the southern African team, saying they will see how the game will open up and from there they will be able to adapt to how they can be approaching the away match.
Besong, a Cameroonian who was appointed to be in charger of the Bright Stars in July, said this at a press briefing at Mpira Village on Tuesday morning ahead of the Group B opening match of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at Kamuzu Stadium on Wednesday, November 13.
Besong and Mwase shake hands
“As the first game of the group stages, we will be going into that game hoping of getting a good result, that is why we are here.
“We have our own game plan knowing pretty well that Malawi are a good side. You have some good players and we will see how the game will open up and from there we will be able to adapt to things.
Training for the Flames
“But I think we are ready, we have been working very hard and we are looking forward to a good game.
“When you go into a game of football you aim to get a result and we have brought along some of our foreign-based players.”
Besong said his immediate task when he took over as the coach was to create something out of the team and that came when they qualified from the preliminary round into the group stages after beating The Seychelles 1-0 to secure a 3–1 aggregate victory after winning 2-0 at home.
“There is now a lot improvement and development having gone through the preliminaries.
“However, we are not just looking at the short but the longer term as well because we want to build a side so that people of South Sudan will be proud of and to be a force to reckon with in Africa.”
At the beginning, Besong applauded their hosts, saying: “We appreciate the hospitality that we have received, it’s a lovely country with lovely people.”
South Sudan
Flames coach Meke Mwase the squad is now all geared to satisfy the hearts of Malawian fans, who have been starved of glory for far too long.
“The day we’ve been waiting for in the past three weeks is now here and and I can say the players have been galvanized by the presence of the foreign-based players, who are all fit.
He said he has mentored his side not to be complacent against South Sudan, which is literary new side on the block as they were officially admitted as a Confederation of African Football (CAF) member on 10 February 2012 and as a FIFA member on 25 May 2012.
Uganda next
“We have worked out on the change of attitude that they should take each an every game as an important international match, never to be complacent,” Mwase said.
The Flames have been playing so well but have been failing to be consistent when they lead or are trailing and fans believe this is one chance to qualify.
“First, we must get six points from South Sudan and Uganda next week,” said Joe Makandanje.
“Once we have the six points, I am quite sure that shall empower the youngsters to also beat Burkina Faso in the third match because by then they have have the right concentration on maintaining the top gear instead of doing the catch up as has always been.”
Then Burkina Faso
The Flames will next travel to Kampala to face Uganda on November 17.
A total of 24 teams will qualify to play in the final tournament, including Cameroon who qualified automatically as hosts but are expected to participate in the qualifiers regardless of its ranking in the group.
Their matches and results will count in determining the qualification of the other teams from their group.
Meanwhile, fans can still continue to buy advanced tickets which Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has distributed to a number of outlets.
FAM’s Commercial & Marketing Director, Limbani Cliff Matola says the tickets are available at the following outlets:
*Ndirande Chinseu Total Filling Station
*Ndirande Energem Filling Station
*Limbe Market Total Filling Station
*Kamuzu Stadium
*Haile Selassie Puma Filling Station
*FDH Bank at Umoyo in Blantyre
*FDH Bank Chichiri Shoprite
*FDH Bank Blantyre Branch
*FDH Bank Limbe Branch
Matola says the tickets are at:
*K1,500 Open Stands (advance) and K2,000 on Match Day
*K2,000 MBC Stand (advance) and K2,500 on Match Day
*K3,000 Covered Stand (advance) and K4,000 on Match Day
*K6,000 VIP Stand (advance) and K8,000 on Match Day