Malawi have surprised many in the past three years, emerging from obscurity under the tutelage of Kinnah Phiri to qualify for their first African Cup of Nations (Afcon) since 1984 a year ago. They then proceeded by making a statement against World Cup qualifiers Algeria in their opening game of the tournament, beating the Fennecs resoundingly (3-0).
The north Africans blamed the high temperatures on the day but the real heat source was undoubtedly the Flames players themselves who showed no mercy in front of goal.
Though they didn’t make the second round in Angola, Phiri’s team have continued on their upward trajectory, and are one game away from making history by qualifying for their second continental showpiece in a row.
The Malawians will take heart from the fact that their most important result in this qualifying campaign came against their upcoming opponents, Tunisia, away at Rades Stadium where they impressively came back from a two goal deficit despite being reduced to ten men in the second half.
Carthage Eagles slowly restoring tarnished image
Gone are the days when Tunisia could be virtually assured of making it to every Afcon with minimum fuss. The perennial qualifiers and 2004 trophy holders have found out the hard way just how much African football has progressed.
Finishing in first place of Group K is already impossible as Botswana beat them to it with surprising ease, but north Africans now have a chance to put things right in Blantyre and have been showing great signs of improvement since replacing coach Bertrand Marchand with Sami Trabelsi.
The former Sfaxien and Tunisian defender’s decision to build his team around a core contingent of locally based players who hoisted the 2011 African Championship of Nations (Chan) earlier this year has been paying dividends as evidenced by lopsided wins over the Central African Republic (3-0), Chad (5-0), and Mali (4-2).
Nevertheless, a more recent 3-3 draw against Jordan using an experimental team shows that the Tunisians’ usually reliable defence is vulnerable and Trabelsi will be hoping that his men can rise to the occasion in Blantyre in order to help exorcise the ghost of Maputo, where the Tunisians fell to Mozambique and missed out on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup after having led their group for the entire campaign.
TEAM NEWS
Malawi
Phiri has called up a largely unchanged squad, with Ishmael Thinda and Gabadinho Mhango both receiving their maiden call-ups. Nafe Nsasa and Fischer Kondowe have also been re-called for this crucial encounter.
Probable starting XI:
Harawa; Kanyenda, Kaipa, Namwera, Fodya; Kayira, Banda, Kondowe, Kabichi; Simukonda, Chilemba
Tunisia
The Tunisians will be without the Esperance trio of Youssef Msakni, Oussemma Darragi, and Khaled Korbi, as all three are suspended. Toulouse’s Aymen Abdennour was also a late omission due to an adductor injury he picked up at his new club, Toulouse.
Probable starting XI:
Mathlouthi; Derbali, Hichri, Jemal, Chammem; Traoui, Chedli, Ragued; Allagui, Jemaa, Dhaouadi
PREDICTION
Malawi have had quite a number of fine displays at their home stadium in Blantyre against top sides in recent years but this is a different Tunisia side than the one they faced earlier in qualifying. A draw favours the locals more and their willingness to defend in numbers may paradoxically prove to be their undoing against a much-improved attacking Carthage Eagles side.
Malawi 1-2 Tunisia
