Malawi National team assistant coach Peter Mponda says the Flames are ready to redeem themselves when they face Namibia in their second Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup Group B match on Sunday afternoon at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium.
The Flames endured a frustrating start to their campaign, suffering a late 1-0 defeat to Lesotho on Thursday after conceding in the dying minutes.
But Mponda believes the team learned valuable lessons from that bitter loss and is determined to bounce back against the Brave Warriors of Namibia.
“We are prepared for this second game. We know where we failed against Lesotho. We had our video session and analysed the game thoroughly. One thing we picked up clearly was our lack of presence in the box. We simply didn’t have enough bodies there.”
“In football, dominating possession doesn’t win you games. You need to get into the box and score goals. We’ve spoken to the boys and are finalising our tactical adjustments on the pitch.”
Namibia, meanwhile, come into the clash on the back of a six-match unbeaten run, though five of those have ended in draws.
Their only win in that stretch came against Malawi during the World Cup Qualifiers in Lilongwe.
Mponda admits that results are still sting but insist the Flames are better prepared this time around.
“It’s the same story even in Lilongwe. We dominated possession, and they scored. But we’ve taken time to analyse that game as well. Namibia are a very good team, and most of their current squad featured in that match. But we’re not using that as an excuse — we know what we’re doing, and we trust the players we brought here.”
Maxwell Paipi, faces a late fitness test after limping out of the Lesotho game.
“We’re waiting for confirmation from the medical team, but we’ve got capable replacements. The players who came in after Paipi’s injury did a good job.
“We’re using this tournament to give exposure to many players. If we were only chasing results, we could have brought in our top names. But our goal is to build a strong and experienced squad ahead of the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers.”
Following their opening defeat, Malawi currently sit fourth in Group B.
A win on Sunday would significantly improve their chances of progressing to the knockout stages.
