Malawi’s dream of qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) has ended after just two games, both of which they lost and conceded six goals, according to head coach Patrick Mabedi.

He made this admission shortly after the team’s 3-1 loss to Burkina Faso in Mali on Tuesday night.

Mabedi, who was given a target to qualify for AfCON, said Malawians should accept the fact that their team has a slim chance of qualifying.

“To be honest, we need to face reality; [chances] are slim because we lost six points and we are on zero, other teams are already with 4 points; for us to catch up might be very difficult,” said Mabedi during a post-match press conference.

He added that it is unacceptable to concede six goals in two games, let alone failing to get a point.

“We had problems at the back where defenders failed to link up. We started very badly; I think we respected the opponent too much and we couldn’t deal with the long balls behind us.”

Mabedi wants early preparations for future fixtures

Going forward, Mabedi proposed a proper preparation as they anticipate playing Senegal back-to-back next month.

“In the future, we need to have proper preparation that will help us to fix those problems at the back.……Because if you go to the game without preparing well, this is what you face. For example, the team we faced has a lot of professionals playing outside [abraod]. For us, it’s a problem because our league is not at a high level, we need to prepare maybe 5 to 6 days,” he said.

Malawi is at the bottom of Group L, with no point. Burkina Faso and Senegal are first and second, with each team scoring four points, while Burundi is third with three.

Malawi lost their first match 3-2 to Burundi last week.

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