Malawi national team coach Kalisto Pasuwa has cautioned the Flames against underrating Comoros in Sunday’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifying match.
Pasuwa said this during a press conference at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe where Malawi host Comoros for the first leg of the playoff tie.
“It is a good team which has been playing together for so long. They are a team that has been playing with local players for so long. They play total football, it’s only a few years ago that they started calling players from Europe,” he said.
The former FCB Nyasa Big Bullets trainer insisted that the Flames’ domination over the islanders in the past four meetings would count for nothing on Sunday if the hosts do not step up to the plate.
“We may talk of history, we may talk of whatever might come on us, but the first thing for us is to get the result on Sunday. Like I said, we are already on a minus because we are coming from pre-season,” he added.
Flames B team captain Maxwell Paipi, among the many new additions to the team, said the players are ready for the showdown on Sunday.
“We know what the Malawians are waiting for from us. We have been training well for the game and the morale is high in the camp."
The winner of the two-legged tie will face either South Africa or Egypt who are also facing off in another playoff game. Malawi, who have never qualified for the CHAN finals, have won three of their last four games against Comoros in all competitions—two in the Africa Cup of Nations and two in the COSAFA Cup.
Comoros beat Malawi 2-1 in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying in 2018 but Malawi won 2-0 in the 2023 COSAFA Cup, 2-1 in the 2019 COSAFA Cup and 1-0 in AFCON qualifying in 2017.
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