nodded in a well taken Sofiane Boufal corner kick. Malawi cushioned a lot of pressure as the Atlas Lions dominated most of the play in the first half with seven shots on target against Malawi's one. After a lot of pressure on the Malawian defending line, Morocco scored to make it 2-1 after 70 minutes. Achraf Hakimi beautifully curled in a free kick that beat goalkeeper Charles Thomu, prompting Kylian Mbappé to post on Twitter "Achraf Hakimi, Best RB in the World" about his Paris Saint-Germain teammate. In the post match press conference, Vahid Halilhodzic commented "It was not an easy game. When we conceded the goal, it made my team react and it was very complex. In the second half we didn't lose concentration and managed to organize ourselves and take control of the game". Mario Marinica commented "We worked and were very close. Personally, I tried to exploit the opportunities I had. We played against a very good team. However, I am proud of the performance of my players. Gabadinho is a good player and, as you saw, each player gave his best. I believe Gaba has the potential to play at the highest level. Our game plan happened as we wanted, but I have to admit that we played against a fantastic opponent". Summary In summary, Peter Kanjere writing in the New Frame wrote "From being underwhelming underdogs going into the tournament to reaching the round of 16, the Flames have shown discipline, flair and dedication, to the utter delight of their fans. Reaching the last 16 is a remarkable achievement for the Flames considering that they are a modest squad with no big-name players. The squad were drawn mainly from the Malawian domestic league as well as the two tiers of top-flight football in South Africa. Marinica hit the ground running and wasted no time in diagnosing the flaws of the Flames and Malawian football in general." In his report, Marinica observed that "the players’ recruitment system is done ... haphazardly and very sentimentally. Physically, most players are short in key positions such as central defence and goalkeeping." Marinica then set about on his own scouting mission, which resulted in little-known players such as Civil Sporting Club defender Lawrence Chaziya, Silver Strikers midfielder Zebron Kalima and goalkeeper Charles Thomu getting call-ups. The Romanian also discarded the Flames’ short-pass game and asked his charges to adopt a