Beating the mental barrier

It is crunch time for the Malawi national football team, aka the Flames, this afternoon when they seek to overturn a 0-1 first-leg defeat at the hands of Benin in the final qualifier match for the 30th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Morocco from January 17 to February 8, next year. Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre is the scene for this swim or sink encounter for a nation seeking a third appearance at the continental showpiece.

The plan is clear. Any victory by a two-goal margin will see the Flames through and we are, therefore, supposed to take a more offensive approach than the one we employed in the away match. The earlier we find the net the better because the Squirrels, who can proceed even with a defeat, are expected to be less adventurous as they seek to preserve their delicate advantage.

It is obvious that the pressure will be on the Flames being the home side and the one in need of a win. Those nerves can only be calmed by an early goal, if not goals, because that will force the visitors to come out and create room for us to do more damage. Otherwise, the longer the match goes without a goal, the more the pressure builds and the greater the likelihood for costly blunders that may just give Benin the chance to put the tie beyond us.

Historically, this is the stage that usually gives us problems. We have been in better positions than this before and still failed to progress. One hopes, therefore, that coaches Young Chimodzi and Jack Chamangwana, who have personally experienced the heartbreak of failing to clear the last hurdle, will have prepared their charges psychologically for the test at hand. Such crucial matches are usually won and lost in the mind. Let the supporters do their bit as well.

Elsewhere, one could say the European football season is already upon us with the FA Community Shield taking place at Wembley Stadium next weekend. Meanwhile, pre-season friendly matches have become more intense as players involved in the latter stages of the Fifa World Cup have now joined the fray. You can now have an idea of how certain teams will be shaped in the new season and it looks like we are in for another nail-biting campaign.

My Liverpool have been the busiest in the transfer market among the top English sides – with more business still expected to be done – and there are fears that they could do a Spurs. After selling star player Gareth Bale to Real Madrid last season, Tottenham Hotspur spent over £100 million [about K70 billion] on new players, but hardly improved. In fact some of the players, including their record signing, were hardly used.

The difference I see is that while Spurs were buying to appease their fans and going for the so-called marquee signings, Liverpool are not necessarily buying to replace Luis Suarez – that is impossible. They are simply building a side capable of facing the challenge of fighting on several fronts having qualified for the Uefa Champions League, by filling gaps in a squad that clearly punched above its weight last season.

It is crunch time for the Malawi national football team, aka the Flames, this afternoon when they seek to overturn a 0-1 first-leg defeat at the hands of Benin in the final qualifier match for the 30th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Morocco from January 17 to February 8, next year. Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre is the scene for this swim or sink encounter for a nation seeking a third appearance at the continental showpiece.

The plan is clear. Any victory by a two-goal margin will see the Flames through and we are, therefore, supposed to take a more offensive approach than the one we employed in the away match. The earlier we find the net the better because the Squirrels, who can proceed even with a defeat, are expected to be less adventurous as they seek to preserve their delicate advantage.

It is obvious that the pressure will be on the Flames being the home side and the one in need of a win. Those nerves can only be calmed by an early goal, if not goals, because that will force the visitors to come out and create room for us to do more damage. Otherwise, the longer the match goes without a goal, the more the pressure builds and the greater the likelihood for costly blunders that may just give Benin the chance to put the tie beyond us.

Historically, this is the stage that usually gives us problems. We have been in better positions than this before and still failed to progress. One hopes, therefore, that coaches Young Chimodzi and Jack Chamangwana, who have personally experienced the heartbreak of failing to clear the last hurdle, will have prepared their charges psychologically for the test at hand. Such crucial matches are usually won and lost in the mind. Let the supporters do their bit as well.

Elsewhere, one could say the European football season is already upon us with the FA Community Shield taking place at Wembley Stadium next weekend. Meanwhile, pre-season friendly matches have become more intense as players involved in the latter stages of the Fifa World Cup have now joined the fray. You can now have an idea of how certain teams will be shaped in the new season and it looks like we are in for another nail-biting campaign.

My Liverpool have been the busiest in the transfer market among the top English sides – with more business still expected to be done – and there are fears that they could do a Spurs. After selling star player Gareth Bale to Real Madrid last season, Tottenham Hotspur spent over £100 million [about K70 billion] on new players, but hardly improved. In fact some of the players, including their record signing, were hardly used.

The difference I see is that while Spurs were buying to appease their fans and going for the so-called marquee signings, Liverpool are not necessarily buying to replace Luis Suarez – that is impossible. They are simply building a side capable of facing the challenge of fighting on several fronts having qualified for the Uefa Champions League, by filling gaps in a squad that clearly punched above its weight last season.