Photo Credit: Football Association of Malawi
Malawi interim coach Kalisto Pasuwa said he believes Burkina Faso lost 3-0 to the Flames on Monday due to overconfidence after having earlier won the home tie of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Pasuwa said this in a post-match interview at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe where the Flames trounced the West Africans to avenge the 3-1 loss to the Stallions in the reverse fixture of Group L last month.
“Maybe the difference was that they came with confidence that they could win again like what they did in Bamako. If you can see most of the time, we were catching them on the break. They were leaving so many holes at the back. They dominated at times in possession but again, most of the time they were losing the ball and we were coming back to try and force them to play in the sides,” he said.
Malawi interim coach Kalisto Pasuwa
Photo Credit: Football Association of Malawi
Malawi lost the away match when coach Patrick Mabedi was in charge of the team before being sacked three weeks ago after having lost all four games in the group up to that point. Zimbabwean coach Pasuwa, whose ultimate employers are FCB Nyasa Big Bullets FC, has turned around the Flames fortunes.
The former Warriors coach started his reign with a goalless draw in Burundi on Friday before beating the Stallions and winding up the temporary coaching reign with a clean slate as the Flames did not concede in the two games.
The former Zimbabwe’s Warriors coach is highly rated as he has won nine league titles in a row since 2014, four with Dynamos FC back home then five with Bullets in Malawi.
Little wonder, he has in less than a week turned around the fortunes of Malawi. The Flames won Monday’s game after Gabadinho Mhango opened the scoring in the 28th minute before his strike partner Richard Mbulu and midfielder Lloyd Aaron struck in the 58nd and 62th minute to settle the contest in favour of the hosts.
The Flames finished bottom of the group with four points, six points behind the already qualified Stallions. Group leaders Senegal (13 points) were the first to book a ticket to the AFCON finals.
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