‘Bring on pharaohs’
Flames coach Mario Marinica says he believes his charges are ready to face the Pharaohs of Egypt following the week-long camping in Saudi Arabia.
Malawi face Egypt in back-to-back 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with the first match set for this Friday in Cairo while the return leg is slated for March 28 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Responding to a question on whether his troops are ready as they head to the North African nation today, the Romanian said: “Based on the circumstances, we are ready as we can get.
“Obviously, there are still a few days to go and we’ll intensify our preparations as we count down for the match. We are also expecting a number of foreign-based players.”
Commenting on the prospects of facing the seven-time African champions in their backyard, Marinica said he is not in a cold sweat.
He said: “Egypt are one of the African giants. They have world-class players in the likes of Mo [Mohammad] Salah, but it is their overall team performance that poses a threat.
“But that will not change our approach and, as always, we will try our best to get all the three points and we are not going there like lambs to be slaughtered.”
On whether it was necessary for the Flames to play lowly-ranked Bangladesh and a struggling third-tier Saudi side Al Ansar. Marinica said: “Remember we were supposed to be here from March 1 and training matches against top league clubs were arranged.
“But as you know, some [TNM] Super League clubs refused to release the players and then we had the visa hitches. So, all our plans were affected and we had to adapt. Our hosts, the Saudi Arabia Football Federation helped us.
“Based on FAM [Football Association of Malawi] president [Walter Nyamilandu] and my relationship with the Saudi FA, we had a fully sponsored state-of-the-art training camp with fantastic training and accommodation facilities and world-class pitches.
“So, I cannot be bothered by a small, very vocal minority haters. Remember, even among the so-called critics, there are football people and people in football.”
On what he made of the Flames’ camp, football analyst George Kaudza Masina said: “It all depends on why the team decided to camp there. On the surface, it seems business as usual if you look at the training matches they had.
“Suffice to say that there wasn’t much Chiwembe [FAM] could have done on the friendly matches as they were outside the Fifa calender. Scoring eight goals against a lowly-rated Saudi club and Bangladesh national team might have helped the team to try a number of combinations, but on paper, camping at Chiwembe and playing a Super League team could have been more helpful.”
The Flames were held to a one-all draw by Bangladesh, who are ranked 192nd in the world, 68 places behind the Flames. They also thumped Al Ansar 8-0. The Medina-based side are 10th in the Saudi Arabian 16-team Division 2 Group B log table.
