Malawi National Football Team, the Flames, leave for Cairo this afternoon with hopes of reviving their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign as they face Egypt’s Pharaohs on November 13 in the first of back-to-back ties.
The return leg is on November 17 at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
The Flames go into the Egypt assignments looking to strengthen their position in Group B after opening their campaign with a 2-1 victory over South Sudan before suffering a 3-1 defeat away to Angola.
With the top two teams qualifying for the 2027 Afcon finals, the double-header could prove decisive in Malawi’s campaign.
The Flames coach Kalisto Pasuwa has named a 24-man squad for the double-header having retained most of the 31-player provisional squad he used for the South Sudan and Angola assignments before making the final changes.
The tactician has, however, made four additions to the sqaud.
Goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, defender Nickson Nyasulu of Scottland FC, midfielder Chikumbutso Salima of Al-Merrikh and forward Lanjesi Nkhoma of TP Mazembe are the new faces.
Salima and Nkhoma return to the national team fold after missing the previous qualifiers due to injuries.
The four additions have come at the expense of 11 players from the provisional squad.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) communications officer Collins Nsunza in an interview yesterday said they are confident that the players selected will deliver.
He said: “The team will depart for Cairo on Sunday with the locally based players, while all foreign-based players are expected to join the squad in Egypt.
“We have full confidence in the players and the technical panel, and we are optimistic that the team will secure a positive result in Cairo on Friday ahead of the return leg.”
Meanwhile, Egypt will also be without key members of their technical leadership following suspensions imposed by world football governing body Fifa.
Head coach Hossam Hassan and his twin brother Ibrahim Hassan, who is the national team’s director, have each been handed three-match suspensions.
The sanctions followed their conduct and criticism of the officiating after Egypt’s 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16 at the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Egypt’s forward Mostafa Zico was also handed a five-match suspension.
The absence of the Hassan brothers means assistant coach Tarek Soliman is expected to take charge of the Pharaohs during the two encounters against Malawi.
As of yesterday, Soliman was yet to announce his squad for the two matches.
