Flames coach Kallisto Pasuwa has no reason to lose sleep as all the 11 foreign-based players he called up for tomorrow’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Namibia have joined the squad.
The Malawi National Football Team hosts the Brave Warriors of Namibia at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Iraq-based defender Dennis Chembezi was the first to report for national duty over the weekend and by Monday evening, the rest of the foreign legion were in camp.
The others are South Africa-based forward Frank Gabadinho Mhango, defender Charles Petro, the only Europe-based player in the squad and Democratic Republic of Congo-based duo of Pastrick Mwaungulu and Lanjesi Nkhoma.
The others are Zimbabwe-based trio of goalkeeper William Thole and defenders Gomezgani Chirwa and Nickson Nyasulu, Mozambique-based midfielder Lloyd Njaliwa and striker Richard Mbulu as well as Chawanangwa Kaonga, who plies his trade in Zambia.
Football Association of Malawi competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka confirmed in an interview yesterday that Pasuwa now has all his arsenal.
“The team has now stepped up its preparations as the technical panel has all the players in camp,” he said.
In an interview just before departure from his Johannesburg base on Monday, Mhango said tomorrow’s match is important as it provides them a chance to revive their qualification campaign.
He said: “We have about six games remaining, but this one is crucial because if we win, then we’ll not be far off from the top two teams.
“Having done well in the recent matches, we are all determined to give out our best and give the fans a reason to smile.”
Football analyst Charles Nyirenda said the arrival of the foreign-based players is a big boost to the team.
“It gives the coach enough options with regards to appropriate combinations he may wish to use,” he said.
The Flames are fourth in their six-team Group H with six points from four matches, two points behind the Brave Warriors who are second. Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles top the group with 10 points.
The two teams have met 15 times and Malawi have won four, lost seven and drawn four times.
Their last meeting was in July 2021 at the Cosafa Cup which ended one-all.
On Fifa world rankings, Malawi are 131, 20 places below Namibia.
