Malawi face DRC in battle for Cosafa semis
The Malawi Under-20 national football team has a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals of Cosafa Under-20 Championship today if they beat DRC at Moruleng Stadium in South Africa.
The Junior Flames finished second to Zambia in a three-team Group B to eliminate Zimbabwe on superior goal difference and progress to the next round, where they will face group D winners DRC in a cross-over encounter. Zambia will do the same against group D runners-up Mozambique.
Zambia topped group B with six points from straight wins against Malawi (3-0) and Zimbabwe (5-1). The Junior Flames took the second place by a single goal difference after tying with the Young Warriors on a point each following the two sides’ barren draw last Friday.
DRC finished top in group D with four points following a draw with Mozambique and a 2-0 win over Comoros in a match that was suspended 20 minutes to time on Sunday due to power failure at the stadium and was concluded yesterday.
Malawi coach Gerald Phiri, whose side failed to score a goal in the two matches played, said yesterday they will fight hard to earn a semi-final slot.
Phiri said through a WhatsApp call: “We lost on Sunday because my players showed some signs of fatigue deep in the second half. We played better in the first half.
“We will do our best to avoid this in our decisive game on Tuesday.”
The Malawi squad, which will maintain the first line-up against Zambia, will once again miss the services of their talisman Peter Banda, who is still nursing a knee injury he suffered during a training session last Tuesday.
“We also have some minor injuries in the squad, but we are hopeful everything will be alright by next [this] morning,” he said.
Soccer analyst Charles Nyirenda said Malawi’s chances at the event are slim and advised the technical panel not to be preoccupied with a winning mentality but rather developing a team for the future.
He said: “This team was just recruited and only a few players have international experience. I have no issues with these chaps as the primary motive of this contest is to develop talent, not winning. n
