* Three other COSAFA sides, Angola, Madagascar and Zambia already sealed their place in the 19-team finals
* The last round of the qualifiers will be played between May 2-4 for the first leg with the return leg fixtures scheduled for May 10-11
By Duncan Mlanjira
Winners of the two-legged final round between Malawi and South Africa in the final round of the CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2025 qualifiers, will go into Group C, alongside co-hosts Uganda, Niger, Guinea and the other qualifier, of Gambia v Algeria.
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Flames or Bafana Bafana are set to join three other Council for Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) at the CHAN finals to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in August — joining Angola, Madagascar and Zambia, who already sealed their place in the 19-team finals.
Malawi came up winners against fellow COSAFA side Comoros, triumphing 4-0 on aggregate after a pair of 2-0 wins in each leg while South Africa defeated Egypt 4-2 on aggregate to seal their place, which included a super 3-1 away win.
The last round of the qualifiers will be played between May 2-4 for the first leg with the return leg fixtures scheduled for May 10-11.
In 11 matches since 1996, the Flames only beat Bafana Bafana three times, drew once once and lost 11, according to statistics by 11v11.com.
These are Malawi 0-1 South Africa (June 1, 1996) & South Africa 3-0 Malawi (June 15, 1996) for FIFA World Cup 1998™ qualifiers; Malawi 1-2 South Africa (February 24, 2001) & South Africa 2-0 Malawi (July 14, 2001) for FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers;
Malawi 1-0 South Africa on July 21, 2001 (COSAFA Cup); Malawi 1-3 South Africa on September 21, 2002 (COSAFA Cup); South Africa 2-2 Malawi on September 22, 2002 & Malawi 2-2 South Africa on October 16, 2002 (with Malawi losing on post match penalties in African Games qualifiers.
South Africa 1-0 Malawi on September 28, 2002 (COSAFA Cup); Malawi 0-0 South Africa on May 26, 2007 (with Malawi losing on post match penalties in COSAFA Cup); an in two international friendlies South Africa 3-0 Malawi (September 30, 2008) and South Africa 3-1 Malawi (December 22, 2012).
South Africa 0-0 Malawi on 27 May 2015 )with Malawi winning after post match penalties in the COSAFA Cup); South Africa 0-0 Malawi on 07 Jun 2019 with South Africa winning after post match penalties in the COSAFA Cup) and South Africa 0-0 Malawi on July 16, 2023 (with South Africa winning after post match penalties in the COSAFA Cup).
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