Flames interim head coach Patrick Mabedi says it is very important for his charges to fully focus on Ethiopia rather than Guinea as Malawi and Ethiopia face off in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at Estadio Nacional do Zimpeto on Tuesday afternoon.
The Flames, who are third in Group D with three points from four matches, have to win the remaining two games if they are to qualify for the Afcon finals in Ivory Coast following Guinea’ 2-1 loss to Egypt that boosted Malawi’s chances of finishing on the second position.
But speaking through FAM’ Director of Competitions and Communications Gomezgani Zakazaka, Mabedi said the most critical thing is to get all the points over Ethiopia and then start preparing for Guinea in September.
“On my side, we need to make it clear we are focusing on Ethiopia and we are looking forward to this game this afternoon. What we need to count at the end of the campaign is different, for now, we are focusing on this one so that we collect three points and then we can start afresh because we don’t need to talk about something that is far, the critical for me and the team is to focus in Ethiopia and if we go through, we can talk about Guinea,” he said.
He, however, described the opposition as a good side despite having some of their players injured and out of the game.
“It’s a very good side. They may have two to three changes due to injuries to some of their good players, but we also need to be very careful because we may face someone more dangerous than those who have been ruled out. So we just need to prepare well. We know how they play and I don’t need to announce how they play, but I think we just need to go out there and do the job and I have got confidence that the players will make us proud,” he added.
He then revealed that two of his players suffered knocks, but he will wait for the medical team to brief him on their availability.
“We have two small injuries for two players. Peter pulled his muscle whilst Richard Mbulu suffered a toe injury but I will wait to hear from the medical team for the final assessment of their fitness levels before the match but the rest of the players are available for selection,” he concluded.
On his part, Captain John Banda said his fellow players are ready to rumble.
“We have been in the game for so long. The team that is here is ready to deliver for the nation. We have a lot of young players who are showing us good signs, and they will definitely rise up to the occasion and do the job. It won’t be business as usual but I think we should avoid repeating the mistakes we did in the past because we have an opportunity to qualify for the Afcon finals for the second time in a row and as players, we are really ready for the match,” he said.
Match preview
In what is a must-win game for both sides, Ethiopia and Malawi go head-to-head in round five of the Afcon qualifiers.
The hosts head into this one off the back of four defeats from their last five outings, while the visitors go in search of a first victory since the turn of the year.
Ethiopia fell to an agonising defeat in a 3-2 thriller against the National Elephants of Guinea at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on March 27 whilst Malawi registered two back-to-back defeats to Egypt, with a 2-0 and 4-0, respectively.
As a result, the Walia Ibex remain bottom in Group D of the AFCON qualifiers, six points behind Guinea in second and a further three points adrift of leaders Egypt, with the Flames sitting in third with the same points from the same number of games played.
Striker Gabadinho Mhango grabbed a double for Malawi in the last edition of this fixture, but the 30-year-old is currently unavailable and will not play any part in this one.
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