From the backwater of Africa football, Mauritius, Lesotho and Angola, stand defiantly and firmly in the way of desperate Malawi national football team at the on-going Council for Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa Castle Cup) in Namibia.
The premier Southern Africa football panorama got underway in Namibia yesterday, but the 2002 and 2003 finalists, the Flames, get their preliminary round Group B show in motion at Sam Nujoma Stadium Sunday.
With their backs to the wall after being booted out of 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying race, Malawi will also line up against Mauritius and Lesotho on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, to determine the quarterfinalist from Group B.
Ranked 107 and smarting from 0-3 hammering by Zimbabwe’s Warriors, qualifying for the Cosafa Cup quarter-finals is the least that Football Association of Malawi (Fam) expect from under-pressure Flames coach Ernest Mtawali.
“If we do then make it into the quarterfinals, anything can happen. We know South Africa will be waiting there for us and obviously they are a very good national team,” Mtawali told Cosafa website.
Against the Black Panthers of Angola, Malawi will not be up against the athletes of old such as Akwa, Flavio, Manucho and Gilberto, but Under-19s, including 15-year-old goalkeeping sensation, Joao Eduardo.
Flames too have options in the youth such as Brighton Munthali, Stanley Sanudi, Isaac Kaliyati and Dalitso Sailesi, but Mtawali has a job to save he will surely throw into battle experienced legs of Joseph Kamwendo, Peter Wadabwa, John Banda, Harry Nyirenda, Charles Swini and Limbikani Mzava.
“This time round we have to play three games just to reach the quarter-finals but Namibia showed last year how that can help you to build momentum and gel as a team,” Mtawali added.
“That is something we can look to as a positive. The key for us is to start with a positive result against Angola and then carry that forward to play well against Mauritius.”
However, such tournaments are full of surprises. Furthermore, Malawi players are notorious for underrating opponents, so never rule out a lousy performance when least expected from the Flames. Malawi, like all the group’s opponents, have never won the cup.
On Tuesday, Malawi, who warmed up for Cosafa with a goal-less draw against holders Namibia, are up against Mauritius—another opponent bruised by Afcon race exit after being humbled by Ghana.
But the islanders cannot be ruled out, and so are the Likuena’s of Lesotho, whose coach Moses Maliehe, has named a strong squad, including exciting Jerry Kalema.
“I think we are starting to understand each other as a group,” Kalema told Lesotho Times during the week.
The Flames last stepped on the final in 2003, so Mtawali has his work cut out for him ahead of the expiry of his contract in August.
His record going into tomorrow’s match is an unimpressive three wins, five defeats and two draws.
Not much different from Chimodz who was dismissed for missing out on the first target of winning Cosafa Cup. Eventually, a 1-2 home loss to the Warriors on June 12 cost Chimodzi’s job the next day.
Like Chimodzi, who got a consolation in South Africa by winning a Cosafa Plate Division championship through an injection of fresh legs, Mtawali earlier placed trust in the youth.
However, as pressure for results piled up he returned to the usual old ways on banking on experienced legs, leading to 1-2 and 0-3 losses to Guinea and Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe seem to have developed a morbid tendency of having Flames coaches fired— first it was Chimodzi and now his predecessor Mtawali’s tenure is at the mercy of Cosafa Cup.
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