Malawi seeks out foreign-based stars

e hope that all Malawian foreign-based players would be available for the Group 12 match so that he can start building a side ahead of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Malawi have three points from three games in the group, Zimbabwe are on one while Morocco have already qualified for the finals in Ghana on 10 points.
Morocco won the sole ticket to the finals next year after coming out tops in the three-team group.
They collected 10 points from their four qualifying matches. Malawi only managed three points from their 1-0 home win over Zimbabwe in October last year.
The Warriors collected a single point in the 1-1 draw against the Atlas Lions in Harare.
While the Warriors seem laid back concerning the tie, The Flames coach Constantine is making efforts to bring in the likes of Russia-based hit man Essau Kanyenda, Orlando Pirates’ Joseph Kamwendo and skipper Peter ‘Mjojo’ Mponda.
The Malawi coach told the daily, The Nation, on Friday that there was still some pride at stake as his charges troop into Barbourfields.
“Even though the game will be of academic interest, we’ll need a full-strength squad because apart from preparing for the World Cup and Africa Nations Cup qualifiers which are scheduled to start sometime next year, we also have to fight to finish in second position. So there is still some pride at stake,” said Constantine.
In an interview on Friday, Zifa chairman Wellington Nyatanga said his association was trying to pool resources so that they can start preparations for the match. He believed that the match could be used as a platform to assess the future national team players.
Warriors caretaker coach Norman Mapeza said he was likely to use Under-23 players.
“As you are aware our preparations will only start a week before the game due to the league programme. It will be important for us to win this match.
“We will probably use a squad that is made up of our Under-23 players. This is why I would have loved us to prepare intensely,” said Mapeza.