Kanyenda: Mabedi had better record than Pasuwa

Sports analyst David Kanyenda has sparked debate by arguing that Patrick Mabedi was statistically a more successful Flames coach than his replacement Kalisto Pasuwa, despite both managers failing to guide Malawi to qualification.

Kanyenda’s assessment comes as scrutiny intensifies over the national team’s dismal performance across both the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Mabedi’s Tenure: A Mixed Start

Patrick Mabedi was dismissed as Flames head coach in October 2024 following a string of disappointing results in the AFCON qualifiers. Under his watch in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, the Flames collected zero points from three matches, losing to Burundi at home before suffering back-to-back defeats to Senegal. The second loss to Senegal at home proved to be the final straw that led to his dismissal.

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However, Mabedi’s record in the World Cup qualifiers told a different story. The Flames managed to collect six points from four matches during his tenure. After losing their opening match to Tunisia at home, Mabedi guided the team to victories against Liberia away and Equatorial Guinea at home. A subsequent loss to Equatorial Guinea away left Malawi with six points when Mabedi departed.

Overall, Patrick Mabedi had 5 wins in 18 games, 5 draws and 8 defeats.

Pasuwa Takes Over

Kalisto Pasuwa was brought in to replace Mabedi, inheriting a team that had already been eliminated from AFCON 2025 qualification. In his first two matches completing the AFCON qualifying campaign, Pasuwa managed to salvage some pride by securing four points. The Flames drew with Burundi away before recording an impressive 3-0 home victory over Burkina Faso. The team finished fourth in Group L with four points overall.

The World Cup qualifying campaign under Pasuwa proved more challenging. The Flames lost to Namibia at home and Tunisia away before bouncing back with a victory against Namibia on their travels. A 2-2 home draw with Liberia followed, before the team was awarded three points via walkover after Equatorial Guinea failed to travel to Malawi. The campaign ended in embarrassment with a loss to São Tomé away.

In total, Pasuwa earned seven points from six World Cup qualifying matches, though three of those points came from the Equatorial Guinea walkover rather than on-field performance. Excluding the bonus points, Pasuwa collected just four points from five matches played.

Under Pasuwa, Flames have won 6 games, losing six and drawing four games.

The Statistical Comparison

Speaking to Times Sports, Kanyenda argued that the numbers favor Mabedi over Pasuwa, particularly when examining their World Cup qualifying records. “Statistically, even Patrick Mabedi has outperformed Pasuwa. Mabedi got six points in four matches while Pasuwa got four points in the initial four matches and got three bonus points against Equatorial Guinea, finishing the campaign with an embarrassing defeat,” Kanyenda said.

He emphasized the efficiency gap between the two coaches. “Even though Pasuwa managed the Flames in five matches or one match more than Mabedi in the World Cup qualifiers, the former got only four points while the latter earned six points.” By Kanyenda’s calculation, Mabedi averaged 1.5 points per game compared to Pasuwa’s 0.8 points per game when excluding the walkover.

Kanyenda described the national team as “a sinking ship without a captain,” suggesting deeper structural problems beyond individual coaching appointments.

The defeat to São Tomé proved particularly damaging for Pasuwa, who had been tasked with winning at least three matches in the World Cup qualifiers. The loss meant he fell short even of this modest target.

Pasuwa’s primary mandate remains qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, a goal that will define whether his appointment is ultimately judged as successful.