Blazing flames

It was all smiles at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe yesterday after Malawi beat Sao Tome 3-1  in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers Group H match.

The hosts put up a good performance complete with clinical finishing which was lacking in the recent games.

Zambia-based Chawanagwa Kawonga opened the scoresheet in the sixth minute after enterprising Chifundo Mphasi broke loose on the left, edged past two defenders and floated a ball  for Kawonga to tap in past goalkeeper Pedro Mateus.

The goal was followed up by good spells of football from the hosts and they deservedly added the second in the 13th minute through Lanjesi Nkhoma who pounced on a rebound.

But Denlison Silva gave Malawi a scare in the 66th minute when he reduced the arrears to 2-1. However, Chifundo Mphasi made sure of the win in the 77th minute.

The visitors had their moments too in the 19th and 37th minute but Silver Strikers goalkeeper George Chikooka denied them.

Despite being a working day, a good crowd turned up to rally behind the Flames.

Not all was rosy though as Robert Saizi was replaced by Patrick Mwaungulu following an injury.

Sao Tome coach Monsanto Ricardo conceded being outplayed by Malawi.

He said: “It was a very bad day for us and good for Malawi and congratulations to them. I said before the game that Malawi is a strong team.

“Malawi started very strong and we conceded a lot of space between the lines. We tried to make changes in formations in the second half as we wanted to balance the game.”

Flames coach Patrick Mabedi, who was under fire for dropping South Africa-based Frank Gabadinho Mhango, commended the players for the victory.

He said: “We had hoped to get the goals early and it did happen. We had problems with combinations despite the win and I think it’s because we had a little time to prepare.

“I was disappointed that we gave away an easy goal. In the second half, our opponents tried to pressurise, but I made changes adding more attacking players to keep them on check.”

Following the victory, Malawi are on third with six points while Namibia are second with seven points. Tunisia lead with nine points while fourth-placed Liberia have four points, Equatorial Guinea are fifth no point after forfeiting their two matches for fielding an ineligible player. Sao Tome anchor the group,