Zambia star fears Flames in draw
Zambian international Noah Chivuta is praying hard that the Chipolopolo must on Thursday avoid being drawn with the Flames in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations final qualifying round.
“You know every team is dangerous. But only one team scares me in the draw and that is Malawi,†Chivuta, who plays for South Africa’s Free State Stars, told MTNFootball.com
The Flames, alongside Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique, make four unseeded Cosafa teams who could be paired with the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations kings during the draw at Café-Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa; hence, Chivuta’s fears.
“They [Malawi] always give us a tough time and never lose by more than 1-0 to big teams away. If we could avoid them in the draw, it would be good because they are a difficult team to beat at their home ground,†he said.
In case the Flames are drawn with Zambia, Friday’s international friendly between the two teams at the Kamuzu Stadium could be interesting to both coaches Kinnah Phiri and Herve Renard, respectively.
After seeing off Chad 4-2 on goal aggregate, Kinnah said he was ready for the challenge of any team in the last qualifying stage to get underway on the weekend of September 7-9, then October 12-14.
A separate draw will decide which countries play at home first. The seeding was based on results from previous three Cup of Nations tournaments. The 2013 Nations Cup finals will stretch from January 19 to February 10.
