Ahead W/Cup Qualifier: Malawi To Play Botswana For Eagles

The Flames of Malawi will on 3 September engage the Zebras of Botswana in a friendly match ahead of their 7 September crunch World Cup qualifier against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

The World Cup qualifier is billed for the U J Esuene Stadium, Cross River State, Eastern Nigeria

The Football Association of Malawi, FAM President Walter Nyamilandu confirmed to the Malawi press that he expects the game against the Zebras to give coach Tom Saintfiet a final opportunity to assess the Flames ahead of the match.

The Flames trail group leaders the Super Eagles by two points going into this decisive match, hence the trip to Botswana is what Saintfiet must have been looking for.

Even more considering that in beating Rwanda 1-0 in an earlier warm-up match on 14 August 2013, the Flames were without key players Joseph Kamwendo, Chiukepo Msowoya, Foster Namwela, Esau Kanyenda and Robert Ng’ambi due to injuries and work permit hitches at their respective clubs in Mozambique and South Africa.

Malawi have seven points and Nigeria nine with the group leaders advancing to the final two-legged qualifying round for a place at the World Cup.

Nigeria can advance with a draw. Malawi held Nigeria 1-1 in the first leg played in Blantyre last year.

Meanwhile, Coach Stephen Keshi has said he is shocked that he should cut down his list of call-ups to 33 for qualifier against Malawi.

Keshi picked 42 players made up of 24 players from the domestic league and 18 from overseas, but the NFF technical committee has asked him to prune it down to 33 for better focus.

However, Keshi said that 33 players for a game is a crowd.

“I have not heard from the technical committee, but if the information you are giving me is true, then I am surprised,” Keshi said

“I released a list of 24 home-based (players), who would resume camp next week so we can bring the home boys’ fitness level to that of the European boys when they join us in the upper week.

“It’s not any different from what we used to do before so I do not understand when you say 33 players for only Malawi game, because I intend to pick at least five players from the 24 home-based to join the 18 foreign boys.”

The Eagles handler added that using 33 players for the Malawi game would be a crowd and waiting to start camp on the first of next month would compromise the importance of next month’s game.

“Thirty three players is a crowd for one game. What am I going to be doing with 33 players for one game? I only need 25 players,” he argued.

“You see this game is very important and I know my bosses understand the importance of the game to suggest that we start camp six days to the match. Anyway they have not communicated me, but we will see how it goes.”