Malawi Suffers Late Defeat to Senegal in Africa Cup Qualifier
Malawi, now eliminated from contention along with Burundi, will conclude their Group L matches against Burkina Faso at home and Burundi away.
LILONGWE, Malawi— Malawi's national soccer team, the Flames, suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Senegal in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier match at Bingu National Stadium on Tuesday, writes Happy Valirani.
Sadio Mane scored the lone goal from a free kick in the final minutes, devastating the Flames, who had held the Teranga Lions scoreless for most of the match.
The defeat leaves Malawi without a point after four games in Group L of the AFCON qualifiers. The Flames previously lost to Burundi (3-2), Burkina Faso (3-1), and Senegal (4-0) in earlier matches.
With this result, Senegal and Burkina Faso have secured their spots in the 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco, each with 10 points and two games remaining.
Malawi, now eliminated from contention along with Burundi, will conclude their Group L matches against Burkina Faso at home and Burundi away.
Despite the loss, Flames coach Patrick Mabedi praised his team's performance. "I am proud of the boys; they were disciplined and took instructions," Mabedi said.
"We were playing against a good team. We got chances, it was an open game, we could score but unfortunately lacked composure in front of goal."
Mabedi added, "We have lost, but we are proud of the performance. It's sad because to me the game deserved to end 0-0 as we didn't give them many open chances."