Malawi National Under-20 Football Team is out of the race for the TotalEnergies Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) despite a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over Comoros in their final Group C match of the Cosafa Under-20 Championship at ABB Stadium in Maputo, Mozambique yesterday.
The Junior Flames have finished second in Group C with six points, but were eliminated from the semi-finals on goal difference, with Angola advancing as the best runners-up.
The elimination came in cruel fashion after the Junior Flames fought back from a goal down to snatch victory in stoppage time.
Comoros took the lead through Ziyad Ali Moussa in the 23rd minute.
In a match monitored on Cosafa television, Malawi thought they had levelled when Webster Mzunda found the net, but VAR ruled out the goal for offside.
Comoros were then denied a second goal just before recess after VAR intervened again.
match: Yasin. | Courtesy of Cosafa
The Junior Flames refused to give up and finally found the breakthrough in the 92nd minute when Germany-based Mwisho Mhango equalised.
Austin Yasin completed the stunning turnaround two minutes later, scoring in the 94th minute to give Malawi a 2-1 victory.
But the late winner could not rescue their campaign.
The solace for Malawi was that midfielder Yasin was named Player of the Match.
Malawi had earlier lost 2-0 to Zambia in their opening match before responding with a 3-0 victory over Botswana and the comeback win yesterday.
Their six points in the bag left them level with Angola, but Angola secured the best runners-up position on goal difference.
On the other hand, Zambia topped Group C with nine points after winning all three matches, while Namibia also completed a perfect Group A campaign with nine points.
In Group B, defending champions South Africa completed their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Eswatini to finish top of the group and qualify for the semi-finals.
Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Angola will now battle in the semis.
Malawi’s elimination means they could not replicate last year’s run to the final where they lost to South Africa.
Despite the setback, Malawi Under-20 head coach Enos Chatama praised his charges for staging a rate comeback.
