The Malawi nation team have finally found their footing in Group L of the 2026 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, earning their first point with a hard-fought goalless draw against Burundi at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Ivory Coast.
When time clocked 5 p.m. on Thursday every Malawian`s hope was projected towards the game waiting for the Flames to burn mercilessly the Burundians in revenge against the home loss in September.
The game which brought new faces to the Flames side including Charles Petro, Frank Gabadinho Mhango, Yankho single, Alick Lungu, and Richard Mbulu while maintaining William Nthole as the first choice goalkeeper and John Banda as the team`s captain gave hope to Malawians as they expected that the changes would bring positive fruits to the Flames side.
Despite dominating possession and creating scoring opportunities, the Flames were unable to break down Burundi’s solid defense. The return of star striker Gabadinho Mhango to the starting lineup, following his omission by coach Patrick Mabedi, failed to yield the desired impact.
The Flames side with a 4-4-2 formation started well in the first half being well tactical with Gabadinho Mhangos Chance which was headed back by the defender of Burundi to deny him scoring and hes free kick that missed the opposition upright with an inch to be utilized into a goal denying him to score and in the second half the flames tried their best to put a goal by creating more chances and increasing energy by substituting some players but all to no avail.
On the other hand, Burundi were able to hold on to the ball, but they struggled to penetrate Malawis defensive zones as Pasuwas charges defended in numbers to protect their territory but still aggressively attacked the Flames side and dominated them in both halves though they did not score as the Flames goalkeeper William Thole made sure that the ball did not end into the net.
Coach Calisto Pasuwa made tactical substitutions in the 61st minute, introducing Yankho Singo, Richard Mbulu, and Gaddie Chirwa for Lloyd Aaron, Chawanangwa Kaonga, and Lloyd Njaliwa, in an attempt to inject pace and pressure into the game.
Macdonald Lameck was shown a red card, only for it to be reversed after consultation with Coach Pasuwa, revealing it was Lameck’s first yellow card.
The draw marks Malawi’s first clean sheet point in Group L, having lost four previous matches in the African cup of nation qualifiers.
The last encounter between the two ended in a 3-2 win for Burundi.
The Flames will face Burkina Faso in their final Group L match on Monday at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, seeking to end their campaign on a positive note.
