Malawi national football team

Malawi
Nickname(s)	The Flames
Association	Football Association of Malawi
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach	Meke Mwase
Captain	Limbikani Mzava
Most caps	Young Chimodzi (159)
Top scorer	Kinnah Phiri (71)
Home stadium	Bingu National Stadium
FIFA code	MWI
FIFA ranking
Current	129 9 (19 November 2021)[1]
Highest	53 (December 1992)
Lowest	138 (December 2007, March 2008)
First international
	Nyasaland 0–5 Northern Rhodesia ; (Malawi; 1957)
Biggest win
	Malawi 8–1 Botswana ; (Malawi; 13 July 1968) ; Malawi 8–1 Djibouti ; (Blantyre, Malawi; 31 May 2008)
Biggest defeat
	Nyasaland 0–12 Gold Coast ; (Malawi; 15 October 1962); Nyasaland 0–12 Ghana ; (Malawi; 12 December 1965)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	3 (first in 1984)
Best result	Group stage (1984, 2010)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances	19 (first in 1997)
Best result	Runners-up (2002, 2003)
Medal record
COSAFA Cup
CECAFA Cup

The Malawi national football team, nicknamed The Flames, represents Malawi in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Malawi. Before 1966, they were known as the Nyasaland national football team.

They have qualified for three Africa Cup of Nations, in 1984, 2010 and 2021. They also won the CECAFA Cup in 1978, 1979 and 1988.

History

Malawi first qualified for an African Cup of Nations in 1984, when only eight teams competed in the tournament in Ivory Coast. After a 3-0 defeat against Algeria, World Cup participants in 1982 and 1986, the Malawi drew 2-2 in the second game against eventual finalists Nigeria. With a 0–1 loss against Ghana, Malawi ended the group stage with 1 point at the bottom of the table and was eliminated from the tournament.

After 26 years, Malawi took part in an Africa Cup of Nations again in 2010. The team benefited from the fact that the continental elimination round for the 2010 FIFA World Cup also served as the qualifying round for AFCON. In the group matches of the third round, Malawi, third place behind Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso and with a record of only four points and 4–11 goal difference, was enough to make it to the continental finals.

At the tournament in Angola, Kinnah Phiri's team caused a big surprise. In the first group game, Malawi defeated Algeria, which had qualified for the World Cup, 3-0. One of the goalscorers was striker Russel Mwafulirwa, who at the time was under contract for the Swedish first division club IFK Norrköping and was thus one of only two players in the 23-man squad active in Europe. Malawi lost the second game against hosts Angola, 2-0.

For Malawi to have reached the quarter-finals for the first time, a draw in the last group game would have been enough. However, the team lost 3-1 to Mali. After just three minutes, the Malawians were 2-0 down, a goal from Mwafulirwa did nothing to avert the team's elimination.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Matches in last 12 months, as well as any future scheduled matches.

2021

17 March Friendly	Ethiopia	4–0	Malawi	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
	Mohammed 16' Kebede 45' Dagnachew 57' Nassir 71'			Stadium: Addis Ababa Stadium

24 March 2021 AFCONQ	South Sudan	0–1	Malawi	Omdurman, Sudan
16:00 UTC+3		Report	Mbulu 47'	Stadium: Al-Hilal Stadium Referee: Anthony Ogwayo (Kenya)

29 March 2021 AFCONQ	Malawi	1–0	Uganda	Lilongwe, Malawi
15:00 UTC+2	Mbulu 15'	Report		Stadium: Bingu National Stadium Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)

13 June Friendly	Tanzania	2–0	Malawi	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3	Bocco 68' Mwenda 75'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Ramadhani Kayoko (Tanzania)

9 July 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Malawi	2–2	Zimbabwe	Port Elizabeth, South Africa
12:00 UTC+2	K. Muyaba 27' S. Kuwali 50' M. Sulumba 66' C. Chirwa 76'	Report	R. Hachiro 45+1' B. Sarupinda 62' A. Mbeba 72' P. Musaka 79'	Stadium: Wolfson Stadium Referee: Keabetswe Dintwa (Botswana)

11 July 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Mozambique	2–0	Malawi	Port Elizabeth, South Africa
17:00 UTC+2	D. Muze 53' V. Vitinho 55' (pen.) 60' Shafiquille 65' F. Simbine 68' E. Siluane 89'	Report	C. Chirwa 14' S. Kuwali 22'	Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Referee: Brighton Chimene (Zimbabwe)

13 July 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Malawi	1–1	Namibia	Port Elizabeth, South Africa
12:00 UTC+2	M. Mhone 73'	Report	E. Kambindu 53'	Stadium: Wolfson Stadium Referee: Akhona Makalima (South Africa)

14 July 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Senegal	2–1	Malawi	Port Elizabeth, South Africa
12:00 UTC+2	Diop 11', 90+1' Ndoye 63' Gueye 76'	Report	Muyaba 35' Sanudi 43'	Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Referee: Keabetswe Dintwa (Bostswana)

3 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group D	Cameroon	2–0	Malawi	Yaoundé, Cameroon
20:00 UTC+1	Aboubakar 9' Ngadeu-Ngadjui 22'	Report		Stadium: Paul Biya Stadium Referee: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

7 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group D	Malawi	1–0	Mozambique	Johannesburg, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2	Mbulu 10'	Report		Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Souleiman Ahmed Djama (Djibouti)

8 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group D	Malawi	0–3	Ivory Coast	Johannesburg, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2		Report	Gradel 36' I. Sangaré 85' Boga 90+5'	Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)

11 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group D	Ivory Coast	2–1	Malawi	Cotonou, Benin
17:00 UTC+1	Pépé 2' Kessié 66' (pen.)	Report	Muyaba 20'	Stadium: Stade de l'Amitié Referee: Bernard Camille (Seychelles)

13 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group D	Malawi	0–4	Cameroon	Johannesburg, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2		Report	Aboubakar 22' (pen.) Zambo Anguissa 42' Bassogog 85', 87'	Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Issa Sy (Senegal)

16 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group D	Mozambique	1–0	Malawi	Cotonou, Benin
14:00 UTC+1	Mzava 51' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Stade de l'Amitié Referee: Hassan Mohamed Hagi (Somalia)

2022

10 January 2021 Africa Cup of Nations	Guinea	v	Malawi	Bafoussam, Cameroon
				Stadium: Kouekong Stadium

14 January 2021 Africa Cup of Nations	Malawi	v	Zimbabwe	Bafoussam, Cameroon
				Stadium: Kouekong Stadium

18 January 2021 Africa Cup of Nations	Malawi	v	Senegal	Bafoussam, Cameroon
				Stadium: Kouekong Stadium

Head coaches

Caretaker coaches are listed in italics

Jack Chamangwana (1998–99)
Young Chimodzi (1999–00)
Kim Splidsboel (2000–02)
Alan Gillett (2003)
Edington Ng'onamo (2003–04)
John Kaputa (2004)
Yassin Osman (2004–05)
Michael Hennigan (2005)
Burkhard Ziese (2005–06)
Kinnah Phiri (2006–07)
Stephen Constantine (2007–08)
Kinnah Phiri (2009–12)
Edington Ng'onamo (2012–13)
Tom Saintfiet (2013)
Young Chimodzi (2014–15)
Ernest Mtawali (2015–16)
Ramadhan Nsanzurwimo (2016–17)
Gerald Phiri Sr. (2017)
Ronny Van Geneugden (2017–19)
Meke Mwase (2019–present)

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[2]
Match date: 13 and 16 November 2021
Opposition: Cameroon and Mozambique
Caps and goals are correct as of: 11 October 2021, after the match against Ivory Coast.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Ernest Kakhobwe	(1993-06-26) 26 June 1993	23	0	Big Bullets
1GK	Brighton Munthali	(1997-12-11) 11 December 1997	21	0	Silver Strikers

2DF	Stanley Sanudi	(1995-02-02) 2 February 1995	61	0	Mighty Wanderers
2DF	Limbikani Mzava	(1993-11-12) 12 November 1993	60	2	AmaZulu
2DF	Francis Mulimbika	(1993-03-27) 27 March 1993	31	0	Mighty Wanderers
2DF	Peter Cholopi	(1996-08-19) 19 August 1996	29	0	Mighty Wanderers
2DF	Charles Petro	(2001-02-08) 8 February 2001	21	0	Sheriff Tiraspol
2DF	Gomezgani Chirwa	(1996-09-25) 25 September 1996	14	0	Big Bullets
2DF	Nickson Mwase	(1997-02-20) 20 February 1997	2	0	Silver Strikers

3MF	John Banda	(1992-02-06) 6 February 1992	74	7	Songo
3MF	Micium Mhone	(1992-01-19) 19 January 1992	46	4	Blue Eagles
3MF	Gerald Phiri Jr.	(1993-06-08) 8 June 1993	45	11	Baroka
3MF	Chikoti Chirwa	(1992-03-09) 9 March 1992	27	2	Kamuzu Barracks
4FW	Yamikani Chester	(1994-12-20) 20 December 1994	26	0	Mighty Wanderers
3MF	Chimwemwe Idana	(1998-09-07) 7 September 1998	25	0	Big Bullets
3MF	Tawonga Chimodzi	(1988-08-26) 26 August 1988	21	0	Omonia Aradippou
3MF	Peter Banda	(2000-09-22) 22 September 2000	14	0	Simba
3MF	Mike Mkwate	(1988-05-12) 12 May 1988	7	0	Polokwane City
3MF	Francisco Madinga	(2000-02-11) 11 February 2000	4	0	Dila Gori

4FW	Richard Mbulu	(1994-01-25) 25 January 1994	32	5	Baroka
4FW	Khuda Muyaba	(1993-12-26) 26 December 1993	15	3	Polokwane City
4FW	Hassan Kajoke	(1997-12-07) 7 December 1997	6	2	Big Bullets
4FW	Lloyd Njaliwa	(1998-05-24) 24 May 1998	0	0	Moyale Barracks

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	William Thole	(1998-10-02) 2 October 1998	3	0	Mighty Wanderers	2021 COSAFA Cup

DF	Dennis Chembezi	(1997-01-15) 15 January 1997	17	0	Polokwane City	vs. Ivory Coast, 11 October 2021
DF	Nickson Nyasulu	(1998-03-03) 3 March 1998	4	0	Mighty Wanderers	vs. Mozambique, 7 September 2021
DF	Precious Sambani	(1998-05-21) 21 May 1998	24	1	Big Bullets	vs. Tanzania, 13 June 2021
DF	Kieran Ngwenya	(2002-09-25) 25 September 2002	2	0	Aberdeen	vs. Tanzania, 13 June 2021
DF	Paul Ndhlovu		1	0	MAFCO	vs. Tanzania, 13 June 2021

MF	Duncan Nyoni	(1998-05-18) 18 May 1998	7	0	Silver Strikers	vs. Ivory Coast, 11 October 2021
MF	Vitumbiko Kumwenda	(1998-09-23) 23 September 1998	1	0	Blue Eeagles	2021 COSAFA Cup
MF	Dan Kumwenda	(1997-05-17) 17 May 1997	0	0	Mighty Wanderers	2021 COSAFA Cup
MF	Chimango Kayira	(1993-09-28) 28 September 1993	68	0	Big Bullets	vs. Tanzania, 13 June 2021
MF	Rafiq Namwera	(1991-10-30) 30 October 1991	15	0	Mighty Wanderers	vs. Tanzania, 13 June 2021
MF	Patrick Banda		0	0	Ekwendeni Hammers	vs. Uganda, 29 March 2021

FW	Gabadinho Mhango	(1992-09-27) 27 September 1992	53	11	Orlando Pirates	vs. Ivory Coast, 11 October 2021
FW	Vincent Nyangulu	(1995-07-04) 4 July 1995	4	0	Mighty Wanderers	vs. Ivory Coast, 11 October 2021
FW	Schumacher Kuwali	(1996-06-27) 27 June 1996	10	0	Songo	vs. Uganda, 29 March 2021
FW	Robin Ngalande	(1992-11-02) 2 November 1992	41	2	Saint George	vs. Uganda, 29 March 2021

Records

As of 11 March 2020 [3]

Players in bold are still active with Malawi.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Young Chimodzi	159	13	1979–1995
2	Jack Chamangwana	133	10	1975–1985
3	Lawrence Waya	129	28	1982–1996
4	Harry Waya	126	8	1977–1987
5	Kinnah Phiri	117	71	1973–1981
6	Gilbert Chirwa	112	4	1981–1993
7	Jonathan Billie	110	8	1978–1987
8	Joseph Kamwendo	104	6	2003–2017
9	Felix Nyirongo	103	2	1986–1997
10	Peter Mponda	102	1	1998–2011

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Kinnah Phiri	71	117	0.61	1973–1981
2	Frank Sinalo	28	75	0.37	1981–1989
2	Lawrence Waya	28	129	0.22	1982–1996
4	Stock Dandize	23	70	0.33	1977–1983
5	Yasin Osman	22	67	0.33	1966–1975
5	Essau Kanyenda	22	72	0.31	1999–2015
7	Chiukepo Msowoya	21	81	0.26	2006–present
8	Peterkins Kayira	18	68	0.26	1983–1989
9	Barnet Gondwe	17	66	0.26	1976–1981
10	Spy Msiska	15	58	0.26	1971–1979

Competition records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966	Did not enter									Did not enter
1970
1974
1978	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	5
1982										2	0	1	1	1	4
1986										4	2	0	2	5	2
1990										8	2	3	3	6	6
1994	Withdrew									Withdrew
1998	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	4
2002										8	1	2	5	6	12
2006										12	2	4	6	15	27
2010										12	5	1	6	18	16
2014										6	1	4	1	4	5
2018										2	1	0	1	1	2
2022										8	3	2	3	4	7
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	–	0/22	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	66	17	17	32	60	90

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record										Africa Cup of Nations qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1959
1962
1963
1965	Not affiliated to CAF									Not affiliated to CAF
1968
1970
1972
1974	Did not enter									Did not enter
1976	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	4	9
1978										2	0	1	1	3	4
1980										4	1	0	3	6	7
1982										2	0	1	1	1	2
1984	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	2	6	Squad	4	3	1	0	6	2
1986	Did not qualify									2	0	2	0	2	2
1988										2	0	0	2	1	4
1990										4	1	2	1	5	4
1992										4	0	1	3	3	9
1994										6	2	1	3	4	7
1996										6	1	3	2	6	7
1998										6	3	0	3	9	10
2000										2	1	0	1	2	2
2002										2	0	0	2	2	5
2004										4	1	0	3	3	10
2006										12	2	4	6	15	27
2008										4	1	0	3	2	6
2010	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	4	5	Squad	6	4	0	2	14	5
2012	Did not qualify									8	2	6	0	13	8
2013										4	1	0	3	4	6
2015										6	2	1	3	5	9
2017										6	2	1	3	5	9
2019										6	1	2	3	2	6
2021	Qualified									6	3	1	2	4	5
2023	To be determined									To be determined
2025	To be determined									To be determined
Total	Group stage	3/33	6	1	1	4	6	11	–	110	31	28	51	121	165

African Games

Football at the African Games has been an under-23 tournament since 1991.

African Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1965	Did not qualify
1973	Did not qualify
1978	4th	5	0	0	5	2	11
1987	3rd	5	3	1	1	8	4
1991–present	See Malawi national under-23 football team
Total	2/4	10	3	1	6	10	15

Gossage Cup / CECAFA Cup

CECAFA Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA

COSAFA Cup

COSAFA Cup record
Year	Rank	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1997	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1998	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1999	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2001	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2002	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2003	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2004	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2005	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2006	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2007	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2008	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2009	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2013	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0/19	-	-	-	-	-	-

Head-to-head record

As of 17 November 2019 after match against Uganda[4]

Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Algeria	7	2	1	4	6	13	−7
Angola	9	3	3	3	8	10	−2
Benin	2	1	0	1	1	1	0
Botswana	25	12	8	5	47	21	+26
Burkina Faso	4	0	1	3	3	7	−4
Burundi	3	0	2	1	4	6	−2
Cameroon	9	1	4	4	6	13	−7
Chad	6	3	1	2	15	10	+5
Comoros	4	3	0	1	5	3	+2
Congo	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2
Djibouti	4	4	0	0	17	1	+16
DR Congo	10	3	3	4	8	9	−1
Egypt	10	3	2	5	8	14	−6
Eritrea	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1
Eswatini	27	11	11	5	40	21	+19
Ethiopia	11	3	6	2	11	9	+2
Gabon	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Ghana	6	0	1	5	0	17	−17
Guinea	7	1	3	3	7	10	−3
Ivory Coast	6	1	1	4	7	12	−5
Kenya	47	19	18	10	61	46	+15
Lesotho	20	13	4	3	43	12	+31
Liberia	3	0	1	2	0	2	−2
Libya	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2
Madagascar	10	2	1	7	12	21	−9
Mali	5	1	1	3	5	8	−3
Mauritius	20	11	5	4	31	19	+12
Morocco	10	1	3	6	3	15	−12
Mozambique	31	12	11	8	34	29	+5
Namibia	15	4	3	8	15	20	−5
Nigeria	8	0	2	6	9	20	−11
Réunion	1	1	0	0	8	2	+6
Rwanda	9	5	2	2	16	9	+7
Senegal	3	1	0	2	5	7	−2
Seychelles	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Sierra Leone	4	3	1	0	14	5	+9
Somalia	3	3	0	0	6	2	+4
South Africa	13	1	3	9	5	20	−15
South Sudan	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1
Sudan	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5
Tanzania	55	17	25	13	62	52	+10
Togo	3	2	1	0	3	1	+2
Tunisia	7	2	3	2	8	16	−8
Uganda	31	8	9	14	32	39	−7
Yemen	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Zambia	79	19	17	43	68	170	−102
Zanzibar	15	12	2	1	34	10	+24
Zimbabwe	64	18	21	25	60	82	−22
Total	620	212	182	226	746	798	−52

Honours

COSAFA Cup :

2 Times Runners-up (2002, 2003)
1 Time Plate Winners (2015)

CECAFA Cup :

3 Times Winners (1978, 1979, 1988)
3 Times Runners-up

All Africa Games :

1 Third Place (1987)

References

"The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
"Flames coach names squad". Facebook. Football Association of Malawi. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
Mamrud, Roberto. "Malawi - Record International Players". RSSSF.
"World Football Elo Ratings: Malawi". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 15 July 2017.

External links

Football Association of Malawi official website
Malawi at FIFA.com

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[2] "Flames coach names squad". Facebook. Football Association of Malawi. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

[RSSSF-3] Mamrud, Roberto. "Malawi - Record International Players". RSSSF.

[4] "World Football Elo Ratings: Malawi". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 15 July 2017.

National football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia Western Sahara
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
¹ Associate member of CAF but not member of FIFA