The Flames coach Kallisto Pasuwa has admitted that the Flames are struggling to address their recurring defensive weaknesses which are making his life as coach a nightmare.
The tactician was at pains to explain how he will address the challenges after the Flames suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Egypt in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier at Cairo International Stadium on Friday evening.
Pasuwa said the team’s failure to rectify recurring mistakes, particularly conceding early goals and losing possession in dangerous areas, continues to undermine their performances.
The defeat came barely a month after Malawi suffered a 3-1 loss to Angola in Luanda, where the Flames also struggled defensively, raising questions about their ability to correct their shortcomings.
Against Egypt, the Flames conceded twice inside the opening 14 minutes before going into half-time trailing 3-0, before Mohamed Salah added two more goals after the break to complete the Pharaohs’ rout.
In an interview after the match, Pasuwa said: “We started slowly and ended up conceding goals in less than 10 minutes. This is one thing which we are lacking and failing maybe to rectify.
“Last time again, we did the same way and this time around again, we conceded two goals in less than 10 minutes.”
Pasuwa made five changes to the side that faced Angola, but the adjustments did little to contain the Pharaohs.
George Chikooka was handed his first start in the qualifying campaign in goal, replacing William Thole, who was left out of the squad amid concerns over his lack of game time at his Zimbabwean club.
In defence, Blessings Mpokera and Nickson Nyasulu came in for Dennis Chembezi and McDonald Lameck.
However, the reshuffled defence was breached as early as the 10th minute when Nasser Maher put Egypt ahead, with Mohamed Hany providing the assist.
Four minutes later, Omar Marmoush doubled the advantage, again benefiting from Hany’s assist.
Malawi had opportunities to reduce the deficit, with Mbulu coming close on two occasions.
Pasuwa acknowledged that Egypt were the better side but felt the Flames were also let down by their inability to convert their scoring opportunities.
“We played a better side and as we were getting scoring chances and we were failing to score, they got scoring chances and they punished us,” he said.
The coach also pointed to the team’s vulnerability during transitions, saying mistakes in possession allowed Egypt to capitalise.
“If you saw most of the goals, these were from transitions. We are in possession of the ball, we lose, made a mistake, then we are punished. I think we need to sit down and do more,” he said.
The Flames coach faces a race against time to address the shortcomings, with Malawi scheduled to face Egypt again in the return fixture in three days.
“The unfortunate part of it is we are travelling and I think in three days’ time we are supposed to be playing. We need to rectify the problems and come up with a better result,” he said.
Pasuwa conceded that his charges had failed to deliver the result they wanted despite their efforts.
“Once again, we couldn’t make it. We did our best, but unfortunately, maybe we couldn’t get the results that we wanted,” he said.
Meanwhile, football analyst George Chiusiwa said he was not surprised with the result
He said: “We are devastated and dejected. But this is not really surprising. This is a result that might have effectively ended Malawi’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 Afcon finals, even with three rounds of games to conclude the qualification campaign.
“With this Flames team we are short of quality in many respects. Let’s try again next time as it appears that we now like experimenting with the Flames. The 2029 Afcon qualification campaign provides another trial.
“As for the North Africans, they may as well qualify for the 2027 continental football party right at the Bingu National Stadium on Tuesday next week after yet another victory past the Flames. Undesirable and detestable football moments to many of us.”
