Malawi lost 2-3 at home to Burundi in the first round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) qualifiers. Chimwemwe Idana scored an own goal to put the visitors ahead 22 minutes after kickoff, but Chawananga Kaonga of Zanaco FC equalized nine minutes later.
Two minutes later, Burundi retook the lead with Jean Girumugisha.
At 70 minutes, with the Flames trailing 1-2, Malawi’s coach Patrick Mabedi made his first substitution, bringing on two attacking midfielders, Robert Saizi and Patrick Mwaungulu for Yamikani Chester and Idana respectively.
Some fans at the Bingu National Stadium opposed the coach’s decision and chanted, “Achoche, Mabedi achoke achoke… [Mabedi should be gone.]”
Four minutes later, Mwaungulu assisted striker Lanjesi Nkhoma, who levelled the score. But Malawi failed to defend well, conceding through Mokono Eldhno, who scored the winner in the 87th minute, infuriating the fans even further.
Mabedi not moved by calls from fans
However, Mabedi stated that he is unaffected by the pressure from the fans. This is despite chants by some of them who called for his sacking.
“Supporters and our technical team see the game differently,” he told journalists after the game. “Chester had a great game [but] tactically you could see when he gets the ball he goes inside and loses it, or ends up failing to give Lanjesi, which means we overloaded one side. We looked at it the technical way… that’s why we changed by putting somebody.“
Mabedi added, “If you can’t get the heat in the kitchen, it means you can’t get out—this is the pressure I have been taking while playing for the national team; this is nothing; teams lose, teams get hammered; I don’t see any pressure, you see, even fans want someone to play, and I want something on technical—you don’t need to listen; at times you need to be stubborn for the good of the team, not because someone is saying, This is not pressure; it’s nothing,”
Malawi has traveled to Mali, where they will face Burkina Faso in their second match of the qualifiers.
They are in Group L, which also includes Senegal and Burkina Faso, who will clash today.
