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MALAWI coach Meck Mwase and his captain Limbikani Mzava have warned the Warriors to underrate the Flames at their own peril.
The two teams clash at the Bafoussam Omnisports Stadium in their second African Cup of Nations game this evening.
Having lost both their opening matches, both have described today’s match as a make-or-break tie.
On paper, Zimbabwe have far much better quality than their SADC counterparts and it is against this background Mwase and Mzava have been firing the warning shots.
Malawi went into their opening Group B encounter, which they lost 0-1 to Guinea, without a full compliment of their team after they were hit by a Covid-19 outbreak in their camp.
But, just like the Warriors, they have retained a 100 percent Covid-19 clean bill ahead of today’s game.
They have also been buoyed by the coming in of Sudan-based, former CAPS United star Gerald Phiri.
Phiri had been rumoured to have retired from international football but he has already joined the Flames camp and with his knowledge of Zimbabwean players, he could be a threat.
“We have prepared so well for the match against Zimbabwe and I am happy we have a full compliment of the squad after the players who were out in the first game against Guinea due to Covid-19 issues are back,” said Mwase.
“It is a huge task playing against Zimbabwe but we have all the confidence and belief that we will triumph at the end of the day.
“We are confident that we will beat Zimbabwe that is why we are here. We worked very hard to be where we are now.
“We are ready to beat Zimbabwe and enhance our chances of progressing to the next stage of the tournament.
“If you watched our match against Guinea, you realised that we created several scoring opportunities but failed to score.
“We have made strides in trying to rectify that and we are sure we will get it right against Zimbabwe. It’s a very big derby and in a derby anyone who makes a slight mistake is bound to get punished. We are going to minimise ours and force Zimbabwe to commit mistakes.
Mzava told The Herald that the Malawi team was motivated ahead of the southern African derby.
“It was a bad day on Monday for both Zimbabwe and Malawi as the way we played deserved something but it wasn’t to be.
“And well, playing against Zimbabwe at the African Cup of Nations is something that carries a huge meaning for us. The history of our clashes is well documented and at the end of the day one has to pick all the three points and we are sure it will be us,” said Mzava.
“On our part we have prepared so much for the game. We will be playing against our brothers but we will put that brotherliness aside as we need the three points.
“I know some of the players from the South African league where we play together and we also played with some who have now moved to other leagues. Personally I am very excited ahead of this match.”
He said the coming in of Phiri and the recovery of all their players has added to the excitement in their camp.
“Gerald (Phiri) is a quality player. He can work out magic from nothing and gives you what you want any time. He can give you width and is a good dribbler of the ball as well. His coming in has spiced an already motivated team. We will beat Zimbabwe come tomorrow (today).”
Online Reporter