Stand-in Captain, John CJ Banda said the atmosphere in the Flames camp is very good and the players believe that it is possible to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals.
The Malawi National Team are in Group H of the World Cup Qualifiers alongside powerhouses, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Liberia and Sao Tome.
Speaking ahead of their journey-opening game against Liberia, Banda who is one of the most serving members in the squad said it is possible for the team to qualify for the finals of the World’s most Prestigious Tournament.
“This squad has potential,” said Banda. “You saw how they played at the Cosafa Cup they did well and our game against Guinea, they also did it well.
“This is the time now to showcase and the players, we are ready to cause an upset in the group. There are good teams in the group, big ones, but we are also a big team.”
Malawi have never qualified for the World Cup finals in history and the previous qualifying campaign saw them being beaten brutally by Cameroon and Ivory Coast. They recorded only one win.
John Banda it will be good for the players to make history by topping the group above Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea among others.
“The success of the team doesn’t rely only on the players, it’s a team work. Everyone in Malawi has to give us support wherever we go. It’s a long trip but we need their support.
“All the players are working hard and we believe that wherever we go, we will make it. [Qualifying for World Cup finals] can be a history in making.
“Maybe some people can say that it’s not possible, but us, as players, we think that it is possible. In our group, there are big teams like Tunisia, Liberia but us also we are a big team. We have been there and we are ready to cause an upset. If we come top of this group, it will be better and these two games are very important for us. If we win these two games all things will be better,” he added.
Malawi will play against Liberia away from home in their opening game on Friday before hosting Tunisia at the Bingu National Stadium next week.
Mabedi after an impressive four-month stay as an interim coach for the Flames, will be hoping to kick-start his permanent tenure with wins as finishing in top two of the Group H is one of the targets that have been injected into his contract by the Football Association of Malawi.
“We had a very good performance at the Cosafa Cup and our African Cup of Nations qualifiers. I hope we will build from there. Everyone wants to go to the World Cup finals and we are not excluded,” he told Soccer Laduma.
The former Kaizer Chiefs defender has maintained the squad that he had at the Cosafa Cup where he finished the tournament unbeaten in normal times with only Gabadinho Mhango and Olson Kanjira being the new faces.
“The players are doing good. The coaches are giving us everything and they are giving us information. We are playing better teams and the Coaches are doing their homework.
“As players, we are happy with the information that the coaches are giving us. We are happy with the impact they are giving us and I think as players we need to payback to the coach for whatever he has been doing,” added John Banda.
The Flames on Monday morning held their last training session at the Bingu National Stadium ahead of their trip to Liberia in the afternoon for Friday’s 2026 World Cup Qualifier.
The team will leave Kamuzu International airport in Lilongwe at 4 and will spend a night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before proceeding to Liberia tomorrow morning.
