With a home draw against Guinea in Group D, Malawi’s Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers dream came to an end.
A 2-all draw was a disappointing result for the flames of Malawi who reached the Afcon 2021 knockout stage for the first time.
Guinea, Egypt advanced, while Malawi and Ethiopia were eliminated with 5 and 4 points, respectively.
Egypt topped the group with 15 points following a 1-0 victory over Ethiopia, Guinea with 10 points came second in the group.
At the 22-minute mark, Robert Saizi of the Flames of Malawi scored the game’s first goal after Guinea defenders had earlier stopped a Lanjesi Nkhoma shot.
First half ended with Malawi narrowly leading. Second half, the visitors made a triple substitution which changed the game. The home side did not take control of the match with the visitors equalizing eleven minutes in the second half through Aguibou Camara.
Two minutes later, the West Africans went ahead as an unmarked Saidou Sow headed into the net from a corner kick leaving goalkeeper Clever Mkungula with no choice.
Malawi made adjustments in an effort to draw even, and they succeeded thanks to defender Lawrance Chaziya, who went higher to hit a powerful header from the corner kick, ending the game at 2-all.
Mabedi disappointed with the flames.
Malawi coach Patrick Mabedi told the media that he was not impressed with his side since they constantly moved around, giving Guinea room to play.
“Still, we need to be happy as we finish on a high note. If you look at this team, it is a completely new team with few seniors. Very soon the boys will dominate if we encourage them as we prepare for World Cup games,” he said.
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Guinea coach Kaba Diawara said it was a difficult game, but he encouraged his charges to keep fighting.
“We knew it would be a difficult game. In the second half we changed the system and it worked for us,” he said.
