Suleman Chitera 
By Suleman Chitera
Malawi national football team head coach Kalisto Pasuwa believes the Flames will benefit from arriving in Cairo early as they prepare for their crucial 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying encounter against Egypt on Wednesday.
The Flames arrived in the Egyptian capital in the early hours of Monday after leaving Malawi around midday on Sunday, giving the team valuable time to recover from the journey, adjust to local conditions and prepare for the highly anticipated encounter.
Pasuwa said the technical panel prioritised player recovery following the long trip, with the team’s first training session scheduled for Monday evening.
“We started off yesterday around 12 and arrived here in the early hours of the morning, around 3 am. We couldn’t do stretches in the morning because we wanted the players to rest more,” said Pasuwa.
The Zimbabwean coach believes spending several days in Egypt will give his players an opportunity to adapt to the weather while allowing the technical team sufficient time to fine-tune preparations.
“Yes, it’s to our advantage. The guys can adjust to the weather, and having these players with us for three or four days can be good in terms of how we need to prepare ourselves,” he said.
Pasuwa also disclosed that 15 of the 24 players called up were in camp at the time of the interview, with several foreign-based players expected to join the squad.
Mozambique-based Richard Mbulu and Babatunde Adepoju have since linked up with the team, alongside Francisco Madinga of Kenshi Dynamos FC and TP Mazembe teammates Patrick Mwangulu and Lanjesi Nkhoma.
Zimbabwe-based trio Gomezgani Chirwa, Washali Jaziya and McDonald Rameck, together with Lloyd Njaliwa, were expected to arrive later on Monday.
Germany-based forward Mwisho Mhango and United States-based Adiel Kaduya are expected to complete the squad’s arrival on Tuesday.
Malawi will take on Egypt in Cairo on Wednesday, 11 November, before hosting the Pharaohs in the return leg at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on 17 November.
The Flames will be hoping to make the most of their early preparations as they look to secure a positive result against the North African giants.
