Frank Mojah Dzuwa

Malawi national football team, the Flames, have been eliminated from the 2025 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup after a frustrating campaign that saw them fail to secure a single win or score a goal.

Their tournament concluded with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Angola in their final Group B match a result that mirrored their struggles throughout the competition.

The decisive moment came in the 47th minute when Randy Nteka found the back of the net for Angola. Despite creating numerous opportunities, the Flames once again found themselves unable to convert, a recurring theme that ultimately sealed their fate.

Malawi’s disappointing run saw them lose 1-0 to Lesotho in their opening match, followed by a goalless draw against Namibia, and finally the 1-0 loss to Angola. This leaves them at the bottom of Group B with a solitary point.

Despite the team’s inability to find the back of the net, assistant coach Peter Mponda offered praise for his players’ overall performance, emphasizing that they consistently played good football but were undone by their failure to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

“It has been the same story from three games—playing good football, creating chances but not taking them. Today, it’s more painful because we only lost through one set piece which we didn’t defend well. But that’s what happens in football if you don’t take your chances, you get punished,” said Mponda.

Mponda while accepting the disappointing results, he was keen to point out the positives gained from the tournament particularly the experience and exposure by the younger members of the squad.

“It was a good tournament, especially since we have a new team and we are still building it. It really gave us the feeling of how it is out there and exposure to the young lads that are coming. In terms of results, it wasn’t good to us, but performance was good—we need to build from these games.”
In 2017, Malawi also failed to score a single goal at the Cosafa Cup under Ronny Van Geneugden with Mponda his assistant. Under them, Malawi lost 2-0 to Tanzania, goalless draw against Angola and Mauritius and finished bottom of their group.

Group B Standings

Angola 3 points scoring six goals (qualified)
Namibia 5 points scoring four goals
Lesotho 4 points scoring one goal
Malawi 1 point scoring zero

Malawi Lineup

George Chikooka, MacDonald Lameck, Blessings Mpokera, Wisdom Mpinganjira,(C), Yankho Singo, Gaddie Chirwa, Chikumbutso Salima, Emmanuel Nyirenda, Promise Kamwendo, Chawanangwa Gumbo.