Malawi will be tricky: Nyandoro

By The Standard and Newsday | Jan. 14, 2022 | 2 Min read

Nyandoro, who took part in the Warriors maiden Afcon finals in 2004 in Tunisia and in 2006 in Egypt, said he was impressed by the way Malawi fared against Guinea, albeit in a 1-0 defeat on Monday.

BY FORTUNE MBELE FORMER Warriors’ captain Esrom Nyandoro has warned that the Warriors’ Group B Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) match against Malawi at the Stade Omnisports de Bafoussam in Cameroon today will be tricky and difficult more than many people expect.

Nyandoro, who took part in the Warriors maiden Afcon finals in 2004 in Tunisia and in 2006 in Egypt, said he was impressed by the way Malawi fared against Guinea, albeit in a 1-0 defeat on Monday.

In an interview from his base in South Africa, the former Mamelodi Sundowns’ skipper believes Malawi will not be pushovers as most people think.

“I think the defeat (to Senegal) was a heartbreaking one. The boys did very well given that we were playing African giants. But the upcoming game against Malawi will be a tricky game,” he said.

“As southern African countries, we have met several times and we have had the edge over Malawi, but they will not be pushovers.”

The veteran of many contests in the trenches of African football, Nyandoro has advice for the Warriors.

“We must make sure we don’t concede; keep a zero score against ourselves and try to get one or two goals,” he said.

“If we can play well against Malawi and Guinea like we did against Senegal and get favourable results, we can safely proceed to the next round.”

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The Warriors and Malawi met as recent as last year in a friendly match in Blantyre, which ended in a goalless draw.

They also met in 2016 in two Afcon qualifiers which the Warriors won comfortably, winning 3-0 at the National Sports Stadium and 2-1 in the reverse fixture in Malawi.

Malawi last beat Zimbabwe in 2005, winning 2-1 in an international friendly match at the National Sports Stadium.

The Flames are appearing at the Afcon for the third time, and just like their opponent today, they have never reached the knockout stages of the tournament.

Their assistant coach Meck Mwase believes that a win against Zimbabwe will set them on their way to a historic knockout stage.

“We had a very good, but unlucky performance against Guinea. We took note of our mistakes and playing Zimbabwe will be totally different,” he said.

“We have some players back after missing the first game. Zimbabwe are a very good side tactically, but I have told my players we are in a must-win situation.”