NATIONAL U-23S IN SINK OR SWIM BATTLE

MBABANE – The national Under-23s’ games might be the nation’s welcome distraction from the disastrous showing of the senior squad Sihlangu in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

With Sihlangu already out of the race to next year’s AFCON finals in Cameroon, the junior outfit have an opportunity to steal the show with a better showing in their qualifying campaign. Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane-led side’s journey to the 2019 Under-23s AFCON finals in Egypt, began with a goal-less draw away in Mozambique last Friday. The Mozambicans are here for the decider at Mavuso Sports Centre this afternoon. It is stage one out of three in the qualifiers.

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Goalkeeper Lindani Mtsetfwa, who stood out like a sore thumb in the reverse fixture, will again be in the spotlight, while veteran forward Muzi Tsabedze will be required to bring his scoring boots. The experience of Mbabane Highlanders full-back Peter Dlamini might also come in handy. Coach Ntibane will be spoilt for choice, as some of the players, who were left behind, will be available for selection in this afternoon’s showdown.

For Mozambique, they remain confident of grinding out the result on the road, as more pressure will be on the hosts. All they want is to score and stop the opposition from scoring more than once to progress on away goals.
If the country’s junior outfit reaches the second round, they will face Zimbabwe.

If they progress to the third and final phase of the qualifiers, South Africa or Angola will stand in their way. Round two will be played in March next year.
Only eight teams will qualify for the tournament in Egypt in November next year. The tournament will act as part of the qualifiers for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

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