The Malawi National Football Team head into their penultimate 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Burkina Faso knowing nothing but maximum points will keep their qualification dreams alive.
This will also be the perfect test for the Flames to see how far they really are in terms of competing against Africa’s biggest giants.
For years, Malawi have been struggling to beat strong teams in major competitions, with the team failing to qualify for the continental tournament for almost a decade now.
However, Thursday’s match in Ouagadougou will not be easy for Meck Mwase’s men who are third in Group B with 3 points from two games.
The Flames played Zambia and Zimbabwe in friendly matches last month from which they lost against the latter before playing a goalless draw to the Warriors.
Now, the Stallions have had a fair share of victories whenever playing Malawi.
On 17th June, 2000, the two teams played to a goalless draw when they faced off in the FIFA qualifiers but Malawi lost 4-2 in the return leg away from home.
In 2009, Burkina Faso registered back to back wins over the Flames in the FIFA qualification matches.
And now they are meeting again for the first time after nearly eleven years but without spectators, anything can happen.
Mwase is likely to stick with his cautious approach, being the underdog in this match, although playing on the counter-attack could benefit the Malawians. Richard Mbulu, who has started high in his second season with Baroka FC, is expected to lead in the attack in the absence of Orlando Pirates forward Gabadinho Mhango who is injured.
A victory for Malawi will boost their chances of qualifying for the Afcon for the first time in 10 years.
The second leg will be played on Monday at Kamuzu Stadium.
