Saturday afternoon’s 4-0 thrashing by Kenya in the Four Nations Tournament was the second-heaviest loss in Bingu National Stadium history for the Malawian national football team.
Joe Balakasi, Jubril Okedina, Lloyd Aaron, Chimwemwe Idana, Wisdom Mpinganjira, Robert Saizi, Chawanangwa Kaonga, Stanley Sanudi, Denis Chembezi, Joseph Balakasi, and long-serving forward Gabadihno Mhango were the starting eleven players whom Flames manager Patrick Mabedi had faith in.
Halftime came and went, with Micheal Olunga collecting a brace in the first minute of a tournament that Malawi is hosting for the first time, putting out the whole fire.
In the fifteenth minute of the second half, Mabedi substituted three players—Hervi Kumwenda, Patrick Macheso, and Chifundo Mphasi—for Mhango, Chawanangwa Kaonga, and Robert Saizi, who were all making their debuts.
A penalty was awarded for a foul on Mphasi within the penalty area, giving the home team an opportunity to cut the deficit. In the 68th minute, Aaron took the penalty, but Patrick Matasi made a good save.
As a double replacement, Mabedi brought on John Banda and Patrick Mwaungulu to replace Idana and Aaron, respectively, in an effort to salvage a draw in front of their adoring thousands of fans.
Within the 83rd minute, after the hosts’ defense was caught sleeping in the line of duty, the Harambe Stars pushed the game out of Malawi’s grasp with another superb goal scored by Ayub Masika deep inside the six-yard box, extending the lead to 0-4.
Mphasi, Kumwenda, and Mwaungulu all had chances for the Flames to score a consolation goal, but the Kenyan defense was rock-solid, preventing the hosts from pulling within striking distance.
In another tournament game today, Zambia and Zimbabwe played to a 2-2 draw in today’s match.
As a result of a penalty shootout, Zimbabwe advanced to the final of this friendly event; Zambia will compete for third place. The match was closely contested.
Four-Games Tournament
Prior to Saturday’s scheduled kickoff at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, President Lazarus Chakwera entertained the four participating national teams in the Four Nations Football Tournament to a dinner on Thursday.
For the first time, Malawi is playing home to a FIFA-sanctioned competition featuring four national teams: the Chipolopolo of Zambia, the Harambee Stars of Kenya, the Warriors of Zimbabwe, and the Flames of Malawi.
The four teams will be playing at the state mansion in Lilongwe from Saturday, March 23, to Tuesday, March 26, and Chakwera expressed his pleasure in hosting them.
The head of Malawi praised the four nations’ football federations for organizing the event, calling it a means of bringing the countries closer together and enhancing their bilateral relations.
“Football unites people of different backgrounds to share in the joys and sorrows of our shared humanity,” he stated, adding: “What a nation invests in its sports is a reflection of how much value that nation places on its health, its unity, its sense of identity, its youth, and its place in the global village.”
Chakwera went on to say that hosting the tournament is only the beginning for Malawi, adding that their ultimate goal is to organize a 24-nation Cup similar to the AFCON.
President Chakwera was invited by Fleetwood Haiya, president of the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), to attend Saturday’s kickoff at Lilongwe’s Bingu National Stadium.
In February, while in Côte d’Ivoire for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, the four nations’ football association heads developed the idea for the Four Nations Football Tournament, according to Haiya.
