Wa Ganyu
- Malawi 3-1 São Tomé and Príncipe
In serious competitions like the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations, it is rare for Malawi to score 3 goals.
The last time this happened was on 10th September 2014 at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre when Malawi hosted Ethiopia in the Africa Cup of Nations.
The match ended 3-2 to Malawi with a brace from Atusaye Nyondo and another goal from Frank Banda.
However, in Cosafa or Cesafa games, Malawi does score for fun. In 2015 they beat Djibouti 3-0 at Kamuzu Stadium in Cecafa games and managed to beat Angola 3-0 in a friendly match.
But on Thursday afternoon, Malawi made history beating a struggling São Tomé and Príncipe side 3-1 at Bingu National Stadium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
The Central African side are perennial strugglers, with just two goals and no win in seven games from as far back as 2023.
In 2023 alone, São Tomé and Príncipe, with a population of a little over 225 000 people, conceded 15 goals in just 5 matches. Their biggest defeats were a 6-0 to Nigeria and 4-0 to Tunisia.
This year, they have played three games drawing 1-all to South Sudan and goalless in their return match, before their defeat to the Flames of Malawi.
How the match progressed:
Malawi played with two strikers, Chawanangwa Kaonga and Chifundo Mphasi with Lanjesi Nkhoma and Gomez Saizi coming behind them.
Just 6 minutes into the first half, Malawi were already one up after Mphasi won possession on the left side before crossing it inside the penalty area to find Chawanangwa Kaonga who tapped into an open net after the goalkeeper had left his line to challenge the ball.
Just 8 minutes later, Malawi doubled their lead, as Mphasi cruised past defenders and his shot was denied by the goalkeeper. Lanjesi Nkhoma won the rebound to send Malawians into jubilation.
Malawi created a number of scoring chances but failed to convert. Malawi coach, Patrick Mabedi brought in Patrick Mwaungulu for Saizi towards the end of the first half.
In the second half, São Tomé and Príncipe managed to collect their chances and pulled one back through Denilson Silva at 66 minutes.
Malawi responded well and kept pressing but Mphasi missed his two great chances with another culprit, TP-Mazembe-bound Mwaungulu, seeing their attempts bounce off the sidebar.
At 77 minutes a well composed Mwaungulu managed to repay his sins. This time, he beat São Tomé and Príncipe defenders before squaring to Mphasi on the left flank to slot the ball into the net.
From then, it was game over as the visitors could not do anything till the end. Malawi will be flying out tomorrow for Malabo where they will face Equatorial Guinea on Monday.
How they stand:
Tunisia lead in Group H with 9 points, followed by Namibia with 7 points and Malawi are third, with 6 points. Liberia is fourth with 4 points while Equatorial Guinea is fifth and São Tomé and Príncipe anchor the table.
