After five matches in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, the Malawi finally earned a point against a struggling Burundi away in Ivory Coast on Tuesday night.
The point came after the Malawi Football Association replaced head coach Patrick Mabedi with Zimbabwean coach Kalisto Pasuwa.
Pasuwa had been with the team for two days before facing Burundi in a scoreless draw yesterday.
Malawi under Mabedi lost their first encounter with Burundi in Malawi, 3-2.
Pasuwa made a number of changes yesterday, starting Marumo Gallants forward Gabadinho Mhango and Mozambican-based attacker Richard Mbulu. He also trusted Romanian defender Charles Petro, who worked well alongside Iraqi centre half Denis Chembezi.
The team was well-structured in defence, but suffered in transition as the central midfielders failed to connect with the forwards. They only had three shots, one of which was on target.
However, Pasuwa is pleased with the outcome, stating that if given enough time to work together, the team may do well.
“A good result for us looking that we didn’t train with some guys. My boys did well and defended well; a good start for now. We had problems in the first half but did well in the second half. The result brings confidence to the guys ahead of the Burkina Faso match [on Monday],” said the interim coach.
The result also excited FA’s boss Fleetwood Haiya: “Congratulations to the Flames on securing their first point in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers. A promising performance that offers hope for even greater results ahead.”
READ MORE: Zambia qualifies for AfCON after 1-0 win over Ivory Coast
