Coach cautions Flames against complacency
Flames interim coach Patrick Mabedi has warned against complacency in the next two matches following Malawi’s historic victory over defending champions Zambia’s Chipolopolo at the ongoing Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup in Durban, South Africa.
The Flames pulled a fast one on the neighbours, beating them 1-0 at King Zwelithini Stadium on Thursday.
However, Mabedi said the Flames should not get carried away by the victory over Zambia and underrate their next opponents.
He said: “I told the players that if we want to proceed to the next stage, we need to beat the champions. If we beat the defending champions that would give us confidence.
“But the battle is not over yet. We still have to win the remaining matches. There are no easy matches in football. We need to take every match seriously.”
Meanwhile, Football Association of Malawi president Walter Nyamilandu has said they pledged a special bonus to the players for a win against against Zambia.
He said: “We are looking into the situation to reward them for an excellent performance that broke the jinx against Zambia which has haunted us for many years.
“We will do everything possible to motivate the players to qualify for the semi-finals of the Cosafa tournament.”
Nyamilandu, who had a motivational talk with the players in Durban, but did not watch the match as he had to fly to Morocco for the Confederation of African Football general assembly, said he was confident that the Flames will make it to the semi-finals.
He said: “The players have a lot of confidence and belief in themselves. The coach has managed to make them play with freedom and finese. I am very pleased that we have broken the jinx that has haunted us for many years.
“Hopefully, we can build on this good start to progress to the next round of matches.”
The Flames, who are second in Group B led by Comoros, now need a win in their next match against bottom-placed Seychelles tomorrow to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time since 2019.
A win against Seychelles will enable the Flames to play their last group B match against Comoros without pressure since head-to-head rule puts them into the semis once they beat the islanders.
Seychelles and Comoros have never beaten Malawi at the tournament.
The Flames won the only meeting with Seychelles, with a 3-0 scoreline in 2019, and also beat Comoros twice in previous clashes,1-0 in 2008 and 2-1 in 2019.
