Under-20 in crucial tie against Comoros

It is judgement day for the Malawi Under-20 National Football Team, the junior Flames, as they face Comoros at the 2026 Caf U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers at ABB Stadium, Maputo, in Mozambique this afternoon.

The match kicks off at 2pm.

The junior Flames go into battle against Comoros looking for their second consecutive win at the tournament— after beating Botswana 3-0 on Monday.

With Zambia already qualified for the semi-finals after two victories over Malawi and Comoros, Malawi will hope to sneak into the last four as the best runner-up across all the three pools.

Malawi are second with three points from two matches but can match Zambia’s points’ tally if the Young Chipolopolo lose to Botswana today.

However, Zambia will finish above Malawi based on head-to-head format even if they lose to Botswana.

This puts the junior Flames in an awkward situation as they aim for a spot in the last four.

A win over Comoros would not guarantee Malawi passage to the semi-finals as other teams from Group A and B remain in contention.

The junior Flames need to win with a convincing margin against Comoros to better fellow contenders from Group A and B in the battle for a best-runner-up spot.

It will be a tall order for the junior Flames as Comoros are not pushovers despite suffering a 3-0 loss Zambia.

On paper, Malawi are favourites as they have assembled a good squad, which comprises Germany-based star Mwisho Mhango, Misheck Biliati, Madalitso Safuli and James Lumbe.

The junior Flames wasted several scoring opportunities against Botswana.

Coach Enos Chatama said he was not pleased with his striking force.

“We believe the boys will create more chances and utilise the chances. They need to be composed and forget about the match we lost. We believe the boys will create a lot of chances and fight to the end so that we can have a better goal difference,” Chatama said.

Three more teams will join Zambia in the semi-finals.

The champions will qualify for Afcon finals.