* Malawi have won three of their last four games against Comoros in all competitions — two in AfCONand two in COSAFA Cup
* Comoros beat Malawi 2-1 in the AfCON qualifiers in 2018 but Malawi won 2-0 in 2023 COSAFA, 2-1 in 2019 COSAFA and 1-0 in AFCON qualifiers in 2017.
* The winner of the two-legged tie will face either South Africa or Egypt who are also facing off in another playoff game
Maravi Express
After 90 minutes from 15h00 today, Malawi need to score as many goals in their home match against the Comoros at Bingu National Stadium as their seek for their maiden appearance at the African Championships (CHAN).
Advertisement
Head coach, Kalisto Pasuwa assures that his charges are geared up for clash, saying at a press conference yesterday that despite that the players were in off-season, they have been training well for the much-anticipated encounter.
He added that the training manage to level up the players’s fitness and the tactical part of it: “It’s very difficult to work with players as they coming from pre-season, but we need to find an answer to that.
“People are waiting for results out there. We need to work with the fitness level of the players to avoid injuries. However, we will see how best we can deal with it,” he is quoted as saying by Fam.mw.
Malawi have won three of their last four games against Comoros in all competitions — two in Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) and two in COSAFA Cup while Comoros beat Malawi 2-1 in the AfCON qualifiers in 2018 but Malawi won 2-0 in 2023 COSAFA, 2-1 in 2019 COSAFA and 1-0 in AFCON qualifiers in 2017.
Pasuwa
Despite being labeled as favourites, Pasuwa has warned his charges against complacency, saying Comoros are not a team to underrate because they have been playing together for so long now.
“We must not take Comoros as a team which people can just see by name, it’s a good team which has been playing together for so long by now.
“They are a team that have been playing with local players for so long. They play total football, it’s only few years ago that they started calling players from Europe,” he said.
Winning this afternoon’s game will give the Flames an advantage ahead of the home game to be played next week at the same venue, and the winner of the two-legged tie will face either South Africa or Egypt who are also facing off in another playoff game.
“We may talk of history, we may talk of whatever might come on us, but first thing for us is to get the results,” Pasuwa said. “Like I said, we are already on a minus because we are coming from pre-season. We are taking them back, it’s good for teams like [Nyasa Big] Bullets, Silver [Strikers] had started their pre-season preparations and the players were in good shape.”
Captain Maxwell Paipi said the atmosphere in the camp is high as the players are eager to get the positive results: “As players, as national team, we know what the Malawians are waiting for from us.
“We have been training well for the game and the morale is high in the camp. We are just calling for the Malawians to come and support us, we need them more in this game.
“The coordination has been good, this is a national team and we have an advantage because we have been using this Stadium for so long, yes, some of the players are new but I hope that we are ready to deliver,” he is quoted as saying.—Content by Fam.mw
Advertisement