Flames coach Kallisto Pasuwa has missed a target set by Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to win at least three matches and finish second in the 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.
During Pasuwa’s unveiling as Malawi National Football Team coach in February this year, FAM president Fleetwood Haiya also set winning the Cosafa Cup and, ultimately, qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), as the other targets.
Although the Zimbabwean tactician failed to lead the Flames to Cosafa Cup glory this year, he has another chance next year.
The Flames missed an opportunity to finish second in Group H of the World Cup qualification campaign after succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to less-fancied São Tomé and Príncipe in Tunisia on Monday.
In the end, Malawi finished fourth with 13 points from 10 matches.
Pasuwa admitted that Malawi’s loss to São Tomé and Príncipe is a major setback in his ongoing rebuilding exercise ahead of the Afcon)qualifiers.
In a post-match interview, the former Zimbabwe National Football Team, Dynamos FC and FCB Nyasa Bullets coach, who took over from former coach Patrick Mabedi in October 2024, said the loss was a big blow to the team’s progress.
“We wanted to finish on a high note, but we ended up losing to a team that is far behind us on the Fifa rankings. Mentally, that affects us because finishing well would have given us a clearer direction going forward as we prepare for [2027] Afcon,” he said.
When Pasuwa took charge midway through the 2026 World Cup campaign, his predecessor Mabedi had collected six points from two victories over Liberia and São Tomé, but suffered defeats to Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea.
Under Pasuwa, Malawi managed four points, drawing with Liberia and beating Namibia, in addition to being awarded three default points after Equatorial Guinea failed to show up for their fixture in Lilongwe.
However, losses to Namibia in the first leg and São Tomé in the return match saw the Flames drop six valuable points, finishing fourth in the group with 13 points.
FAM competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka said the association will wait for Pasuwa’s full technical report of the campaign before commenting.
But football analyst Ojukwu Malunga described the defeat as a huge disappointment.
Said the former Flames right-back: “It’s very sad that after being awarded default points following Equatorial Guinea’s failure to show up, we still went on to lose to a lowly ranked team like São Tomé.
“The result raises serious questions about the rebuilding exercise, it’s as if there’s no progress at all.”
Before beating Malawi, São Tomé had gone 18 matches without a victory in all competitions over three years. Ironically, they had just suffered a 6-0 thrashing by Tunisia a few days earlier.
Pasuwa conceded that São Tomé appeared hungrier for the result while the Flames struggled due to lack of match fitness following Equatorial Guinea’s no-show.
