Flames told to attack more

Malawi’s Flames should go flat out to attack when they line up against Egypt’s Pharaohs in a return Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier at Bingu National Stadium this afternoon, two legends have advised.

The sentiments from former coaches Kinnah Phiri and Yasin Osman come four days after the Flames’ poor display in Cairo in the first leg which the North Africans won 2-0.

The Flames must  punch above their weight to win. The Flames posed no threat to the Pharaohs.

Said Osman: “In Cairo, we sat back and allowed Egypt to come at us. We showed them too much respect and danced to their tune.

“This time, we need to take the game to them while being cautious at the back.

“We need to open up and start building up attacks right from the defence using our wings.

“In Cairo, we tried long balls which yielded nothing as we did not even have an attempt on target.”

On his part, Kinnah, who was in charge when Malawi last beat Egypt 1-0 at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre in 2008, agreed with Osman, saying the Flames need to attack more.

He said: “We are at home and we have nothing to lose. We need to be more offensive and take the game to them.

“We should try to create as many chances as we can and put them to good use.

“Of course, they [Egypt] have some good individual players such as [Mohammad] Salah, but as a team they are not as strong as they were a couple of years back. So, we must not show them too much respect as we did in Cairo.

“Otherwise, we wish our team all the best and hopefully, they will give us reason to smile tomorrow [today].”

But this cannot be a stroll in the park against the record seven-time African champions and it would take something special for Malawi to come out of the trenches bruised, but triumphant.

On paper, the Egyptians are odds-on favorites, due to the gap in class as they are ranked 39th on Fifa World Rankings, 85 places above the Flames.

But such is the beauty of football that it doesn’t always go according to script and the Flames will be itching for an upset like it was in 2008, the last time the Pharaohs were in town for a similar tie and were humbled.

 Flames coach Mario Marinica said the approach in the first leg was not defensive.

He said: “I do not believe in defending style. I am not the kind of coach to dwell on defending because when you defend much, you create pressure for yourselves and concede goals.

“Having said that, I always believe my team can win and now I believe in our chances too, but obviously, I can’t go into details.

 “We will focus on the defensive and offensive factors. We will play to win and that’s what we are looking forward to.”

In the first leg, the Flames did not have any attempt on target. They also had 14.7 percent possession in the first half against 85.3 percent for their opponents.

That is not all. Egypt also had 10 corners against none for the Flames, a further proof of their dominance.

Malawi are third in the four-team Group D with three points from three matches, three points short of leaders Egypt, who are tied on points with second-placed Guinea’s Syli Nationale.

Ethiopia, who also have three points, anchor the group.