At 0:00 Beijing time on January 15, the second round of the African Cup of Nations Group B, in the case of 0-1 behind, Gabadinho Mhango staged a good second time in 15 minutes, Malawi reversed Zimbabwe 2-1, won the first victory of this African Cup, and retained the hope of qualifying.
According to the latest FIFA rankings, Malawi ranks 129th in the world and Zimbabwe is 121st, and the combined value of the two teams is less than 20 million euros, even less than the national football team, which is definitely a dialogue between super fish. In the first round of the group stage, both teams lost and needed 3 points to save the precarious situation.
In the whole game, Malawi had only 36% of the ball, was pressed by Zimbabwe, the number of shots on goal was 9-12, and the number of shots on target was 2-5, which was a variety of behind.
Miraculously, However, Malawi's two shots were actually converted into goals, and the 29-year-old Gabadinho Mhango became the number one hero, scoring two goals in 15 minutes to help the team achieve a reversal, staged a wonderful air flip celebration, and was elected the official MVP without suspense.
Located in eastern Africa, Malawi covers an area of just 118,000 square kilometers and has a population of about 19 million. It is reported that Malawi is also one of the underdeveloped countries, with its economy mainly dependent on planting and relying heavily on international support. As a result, Malawi football has been slow to improve, and the last time they participated in the African Cup of Nations was in 2010, when they were 1 win and 2 losses.
So this 2-1 reversal means a lot to Malawi, who have been waiting for 12 years for this victory. The final whistle blew, the Malawi team was close to madness, and there was a big group photo left after the game, and every player had a smile on their faces.
The first two rounds of Group B have been played, Senegal has 1 win and 1 draw to get 4 points, Guinea has the same record, the two teams are tied for 1st place, Malawi is 3rd in the group with 3 points, while Zimbabwe is 2 consecutive defeats, currently at the bottom with 0 points, the goal difference is -3, the situation is very serious.
According to the rules of this year's Africa Cup of Nations, the top two in the six groups and the 3rd place in the four groups with better results will advance to the round of 16, which means that Malawi still has hope.
Of course, Zimbabwe is not desperate in theory, but the prerequisite is to beat Guinea in the final round, but also to score as many goals as possible, while also expecting Malawi to lose, which seems like a difficult task to complete.