Flames captain says World Cup draw fair, but tricky
Flames captain Joseph Kamwendo has described the 2018 World Cup second preliminary round pitting the Flames and Tanzania as fair but tricky.
The Flames were drawn against the Taifa Stars during a draw conducted in Russia on Saturday and will travel to Tanzania for the first leg between October 5 and 13 while the second leg is scheduled for November.
The winner will face the continent’s top-ranked side Algeria’s Desert Fennecs.
“I would say it is a fair draw, but tricky in the sense that they have not done well in the recent past, losing almost three if not four straight matches.
“But they are desperate to change their fortunes and they recently hired a new coach [Boniface Charles Mkwasa] and we are also in process of engaging a new coach following our poor start in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations against Zimbabwe,” said Kamwendo.
The DR Congo-based midfielder said he could not comment on the prospects of facing Algeria, saying: “We cannot start commenting about Algeria before we get it over and done with Tanzania. Let’s finish breakfast before we can start talking about supper.”
He also said the two teams have played each other in friendly matches on a number of times and they are aware of what to expect.
“To me, I think the way we will perform against Swaziland in our next 2017 Afcon qualifier could also have an effect on the Swaziland match,” he said.
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) sports journalist Frank Kandu said Taifa Stars have been struggling. They lost all their games at the Cosafa Cup where they participated as guests.
“And then they lost to Uganda 3-0 in their opening 2017 Afcon qualifier at home, a result which led to the dismissal of coach Dutchman Mart Noorj.
“But they are now trying to reorganise themselves after hiring a new coach [Mkwasa] and I can foresee that it is going to be a tricky fixture and the Flames need to prepare well,” said Kandu.
