Malawi National Football team, The Flames are aiming for a second win over Mozambique in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as the two sides square- off at the Matheu Kerekou Stadium in Cotonou Benin this afternoon in the last match of the qualifiers.
The Meck Mwase side beat Mozambique 1-0 back in September in their only win of the campaign, while the Mambas are without a win in five matches
Mwase said though the match is a dead-rubber it gives him an opportunity to try other players as well as sign off the campaign on a positive note.
“Our approach is to win the match to boost the confidence of the players ahead of AFCON finals. It is time to give other players a chance so that they can prove their class.
“But on top of that there is pride at stake as we don’t want to finish bottom of the table,” said Mwase.
The Flames are without key players in the midfield namely Chikoti Chirwa, Gerald Phiri Junior and John Banda. Chirwa and Banda are serving yellow cards and Red Card suspensions respectively while Phiri was excused to sort out personal issues as he is set to relocate to Sudan from South Africa.
The team got a timely boost on Monday with news that Peter Banda, who limped off in Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Cameroun, has been declared fit for the match.
However, goalkeeper Brighton Munthali is out with an ankle injury.
Nyasa Big Bullets’ Ernest Kakhobwe is likely to start in goals ahead of Richard Chipuwa while Gomezgani Chirwa and Mike Mkwate will be handled their first starts in the qualifiers.
In the other Group D match leaders Ivory Coast face Cameroun in a tricky away fixture.
The Elephants top the group with 13 points, one point above Cameroun. They just need a draw to progress to the final round of the qualifiers while Cameroun need a win.
