Flames have slim chances of getting a result in Egypt – Litete
By Antony Isaiah Jr……..
Renowned Sports Journalist, Lifu Litete said the odds are against the Malawi National Football Team in a game against Egypt kicking off at 21HR00 CAT on Friday evening.
Litete said this in an interview with this Publication on Thursday saying most factors are not in Marinica’s boys’ favour in the game.
The Flames who sit second in group D with 3 points are facing the bottom placed side, Egypt at the 30,000 capacity Stadium, 23 June Stadium hoping to break the jinx of failing to win in the Pharaohs’ den.
“Chances of getting a result away are slim,” he said. “But one thing if you note Egypt sitichinya ndi zigoli zambiri unlike West African teams.”
He added that Malawi messed up the game against Guinea where Naby Keita’s strike handed the Flames a 1-0 defeat saying that it was a better game to snatch a point than against Egypt.
He said, “We messed up the Guinea game. We were supposed to force a draw away. It was easy to get a draw in Guinea than in Egypt. Most factors are not in our favour [on Friday].The kickoff time is already a minus. Vice captain Stanley Sanudi is suspended then we lost our most senior Player Chiukepo who was in the squad that last beat Egypt. So all these factors combined they have piled pressure on the lads.”
On Mario’s excuse of kick-off, Litete said, “Ofcourse time factor can affect our team’s performance but I believe the coach could have taken advantage of the camp in Saudi Arabia to prepare his charges.
“A week of training under flood lights and in late night hours could have done justice to the boys. So his excuse on the kickoff time doesn’t hold.He had enough time and resources to prepare his charges because this fixture came out way long time ago.It’s not like it’s an emergency that Egypt just changed the kickoff time just now.”
On what should Mario do to at least salvage a point in Egypt, Lifu said, “Let’s sit back in the first 15 minutes and observe the opponent. Then we shouldn’t concede in the first 30 minutes atleast because an early goal will unsettle us then we have some lads without experience can not fight back when the team is down.So let Mario stablise his midfield. We need midfielders who should be able to hold on to the ball not ulionse away. With hold up play then we will be able to allow strikers to find space for themselves.”
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