By Mabvuto Kambuwe in Tunis, Tunisia:
Malawi National Football Team Coach Kalisto Pasuwa was left disappointed with the officiating crew during the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Tunisia on Monday.
The Flames lost 2-0 to Tunisia in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
The match was played at Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, in Tunisia.
Pasuwa said he felt his charges were punished by biased officiating.
“A very painful defeat for us. We conceded in the 86th minute. I thought the goal was offside. The second goal was a soft penalty as the Tunisia player dived in the box.
“In the dying minutes, we got a penalty, which was also soft, but we missed. I think he [the referee] was just trying to manage the situation but that is what football is all about,” Pasuwa said.
Substitute Siefeddine Jaziri and Elias Achouri scored for the hosts.
There was late drama as Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen saved Richard Mbulu’s penalty.
It was the Flames second consecutive defeat in a Group H match following a 1-0 loss to Namibia’s Brave Warriors at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe last week.
Pasuwa, on the other hand, said his troops deserved something from the match.
“We were very solid at the back. We had our moments and had chances in the match,” Pasuwa said.
The result means that the Flames are all but out of the qualifiers as they trail current leaders Tunisia by 10 points with four matches to go.
Tunisia have 16 points from six matches, four points above second-placed Namibia, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa, Tuesday.
The Flames are now fifth with six points from the same number of matches.
Liberia and Equatorial Guinea are third and fourth with 10 points and seven, respectively.
Sao Tome and Principe anchor the group without a point.
Without South Africa-based striker Frank Gabadinho Mhango and Romania-based defender Charles Petro, Pasuwa was forced to reshuffle his starting line-up.
He made some changes to the side that started in the 1-0 loss to Namibia as Chawanangwa Kaonga, Nickson Mwase, MacDonald Lameck, John Banda and Lloyd Njaliwa were thrown straight into the fray.
Yankho Singo, Wisdom Mpinganjira and Patrick Mwaungulu were relegated to the bench whereas Mhango and Petro did not travel with the team.
Malawi will face Namibia away on September 1 before hosting Liberia seven days later.
Thereafter, the Flames will host Equatorial Guinea on October 6 before wrapping up the qualifiers with an away fixture against Sao Tome and Principe on October 13.
The top teams in each of the nine qualification groups will advance to next year’s finals, to be staged in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.
But the four best runners-up from the nine groups will earn places in the inter-continental plays-offs for one further spot.
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