Senegal vs Malawi

This week will see the third round of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with Senegal and Malawi playing the first game of a doubleheader in Diamniadio on Friday night in Group L.

With four points from the first two games, the hosts are in second position in the group standings and have not lost, while the visitors are at the bottom of the table and have yet to earn a point in the competition.

Senegal, an African powerhouse, has started its 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign well. They are now level on four points with Burkina Faso, the group leaders, with whom they drew 1-1 in the first round.

The Lions of Teranga, who had led the game until stoppage time, would probably have been unhappy by the outcome, but they were flawless in round two, holding a one-goal lead against a tenacious Burundi on the road.

Since their AFCON elimination against the Ivory Coast earlier this year, the 2021–22 champions of this championship have gone six games without losing, including four victories and two draws.

But last week, the team saw the end of an era when the Senegal Football Federation announced that Aliou Cisse would leave the team after nine years, claiming that the former captain of the national team had not met their goals, which included winning the 2023 AFCON and making it to the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals.

Pape Thiaw, Cisse's former assistant, will assume the role temporarily until the next manager is confirmed, although the Lions of Teranga will enter this month's qualifiers without a permanent coach in charge.

For just the fourth time in their history, Malawi is attempting to advance to the AFCON main draw, but given their recent performance, it doesn't appear probable that they will be able to do so unless they win the remaining games in their group stage.

Burkina Faso defeated the Flames 3-1 on matchday two after they had lost their initial match 3-2 against Burundi. The Flames had lost back-to-back losses in the first two rounds of this competition.

The sole win that Patrick Mabedi's team has had in the past 12 months is a triumph over Sao Tome e Principe. They have now lost six of their last seven games and are on a three-match losing run.

Malawi's FIFA ranking has fallen by a staggering seven spots in the past month due to their terrible play, placing them 39th out of 53 CAF members and 133rd in the globe.

In the three previous meetings between these two teams, Malawi has never defeated Senegal; they have lost twice and drawn their most recent meeting goalless in January 2022.