Last chance for Malawi at Beach Soccer Afcon 

Malawi have a chance to revive  their campaign at the 2022 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations byy overcoming Morocco in their second and last Group A match at Arena de Virankulo in Mozambique this afternoon in.

After going down 4-2 to hosts Mozambique in the opening match on Friday, Malawi need to beat Morocco by at least a three-goal margin if they are to stay in contention.

Morocco beat Mozambique 3-1 in their opening match yesterday

With group winners and runners-up punching the ticket to the semi-finals, the match holds Malawi’s fate in the three-team group.

Though rated last on position 101 on beach soccer world rankings, Malawi proved they are not pushovers as Mozambique had to sweat blood to claim the 4-2 victory in a match monitored on Supersport television channel.

Twice Malawi led in the match, only for the hosts to equalise and win in it in the last period.

Malawi coach Willy Kumilambe said winning the match against Morocco is a must.

He said: “If you lose the opening match at a tournament like this one, it’s a must to win the second one, otherwise you are out.”

Kumilambe said his charges were a bit jittery in the opening game due to stage fright as it was their debut match at the tournament.

The coach said they will now be disciplined to avoid the mistakes committed in the opening match.

He said: “If you see the goals we conceded, it was because we made some mistakes. It’s not like they made serious moves to score.”

But Malawi will be up against a team making its ninth appearance at Beach Soccer Afcon and clicnhed bronze in the last edition.

Kumilambe admitted that it will not be a stroll in the park.

“These games are not easy. They are very tough. But we will fight to the end,” he said.

Malawi captain Sandram Saddi said the match against Morocco is crucial and the players know what it means to the nation.

He said: “We know the implications of losing this match.  We will go there and ensure we make Malawi proud of us.”

If Malawi are knocked out, they will play placement matches to identify position five, six and seven teams.

The champions and runners-up will qualify for the Dubai 2023 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.

Malawi qualified for the finals on the away goals rule after an 8-8 aggregate stalemate against Tanzania.