Malawi National Football Team, the Flames’ hopes of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup suffered a dent when they lost 1-0 to Namibia’s Brave Warriors at Bingu National Stadium last night.
This is Malawi’s first loss in five matches in all competitions under the tutelage of Kalisto Pasuwa.
It was also the first time the Flames conceded a goal in five matches.
However, this is the Flames third loss for the Flames in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers after similar defeats to Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea.
The Flames remain fourth in the Group H with six points from five matches, seven points behind leaders Tunisia.
But Namibia maintained their second spot with 11 points from five matches whereas Liberia, who lost 1-0 at home to Tunisia, remain third with seven points from the same number of matches.
The Flames went into the match with high expectations following three consecutive defeats but it ended in tears for the home crowd who turned in large numbers.
But it was the visitors who got the vital win in the qualifiers.
Tjiueza Menelik scored the lone goal of the match in the 40th minute.
The forward took advantage of Flames poor defending to bundle the ball into the net with his right foot beating goalkeeper William Thole.
From the word go, the visitors looked composed and were tactically the better side.
The Flames made a cocktail of mistakes and could not put more than five passes together for the better part of the match.
Namibia, on the other hand, led by captain Peter Shalulile were a constant threat.
On top of that, they were also solid at the back.
In all fairness, the Flames had a bad outing at home last night.
With the availability of 11 foreign-country based players, Pasuwa trusted Thole between the sticks with Gomezgani Chirwa, Charles Petro, Dennis Chembezi and Alick Lungu at the back.
Yankho Singo, Lloyd Aaron, Wisdom Mpinganjira and Patrick Mwaungulu started in the midfield whereas Frank Gabadinho Mhango who was the captain on the night and Richard Mbulu led the attack.
But Mhango had a bad night as he was tightly marked by Namibia defenders.
The Marumo Gallants striker was substituted in the 51st minute of the match as Chawanangwa Kaonga.
Towards the end of the match, Pasuwa brought in Gaddie Chirwa for Mwaungulu.
The Flames had few chances to level the scores but lacked composure upfront.
Mbulu had a chance but his effort was saved by Namibia goalkeeper Edward Moava.
Chirwa nearly grabbed the equaliser but he missed the target in stoppage time.
The Flames are expected to leave for Tunisia today ahead of Monday’s match in Tunis.
