Much as it was expected that the Flames were on a self-destruction mode the moment they lost at home to Burundi in September, yesterday’s 1-0 loss to Senegal at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe pained fans.
Despite the Flames losing all three Group L qualifiers in 2025 TotalEnergies Afcon, the fans still came in large numbers to witness the clash against the Lions of Teranga.
A heavy downpour for a good part of the first-half did not dim the hope that the team would at least die fighting.
It had to take a last gasp beauty of a goal from Sadio Mane free-kick to send Malawi packing in the 2025 Afcon campaign.
After holding the star-studded West Africans up to the end of regulation time, a foul by substitute Robert Saizi on the edge of the box was all it took for Senegal to collect full points and punch a ticket to Morocco finals.
The result has confirmed that they join Burkina Faso as the teams that have qualified from Group L.
The two sides are tied at 10 apiece, each having beaten Malawi and Burundi twice, home and away.
The West African giants drew one-all against each other. This means even if Malawi and Burundi can win their matches, they cannot reach 10 points.
Malawi’s maximum points if they can win their last two qualifiers against Burkina Faso at home and away to Burundi in November is six.
Burundi’s maximum points in case they win their remaining matches against Malawi and Senegal is nine.
Coach Patrick Mabedi tried to restructure the starting XI, replacing goalkeeper George Chikooka with William Thole.
The defence also had some changes with Stanley Sanudi paving the way for McDonald Lameck while Timothy Silwimba got a second cap alongside centre backs Denis Chembezi and Nickson Mwase.
In midfield, Mabedi opted for John Banda, Lloyd Njaliwa and Wisdom Mpinganjira.
Upfront he maintained Chawanangwa Kaonga as main striker with Patrick Mwaungulu and Lanjesi Nkhoma playing wide.
