AFCON QUALIFIERS: ESWATINI U-23S ADVANCE, FACE EGYPT

MBABANE – They have made the country proud.

The country’s national Under-23s football team are through to the second round of the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers after surviving a scare from Botswana yesterday. Despite losing 1-2 away at Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Botswana yesterday, Neliswa ‘Tiger’ Dlamini’s lone 75th minute strike proved to be the difference, as it propelled Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane’s charges to next round with a 3-2 aggregate win. In the first leg at Somhlolo National Stadium last Friday, Eswatini had scored two unanswered goals. Having trailed 2-0 at half-time after goals from Tefo Austin Molefe and Tawana Mbakile levelled the tie, Eswatini needed a response on resumption of play. ‘Tiger’ proved to be what the doctor ordered for the visitors, who were the only scorers in the second half.

Eswatini will now face the ‘Young Pharaohs’ of Egypt in the next round. The first leg game will be held here at home on the weekend of October 21-23. The second leg will be played in Cairo, Egypt, a week later. Eswatini will then face the winner of the Sierra Leone and Zambia match in the third stage of the qualifiers if they go past the 2019 Under-23s AFCON champions (Egypt). The winner in the third round will progress to the finals to be played in Morocco next year.

Olympic

It should be noted that the AFCON tournament also serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games that will be held in Paris, France. The top three teams in Morocco (champions, runners-up and bronze medallists) will represent Africa at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, Coach Ntibane stressed on the need to do their homework, as the Egyptians could prove to be a hard nut to crack. “We will go back to the drawing board and plan to be more tactical because North African teams are more quicker. They must find us ready, so there is no rest on our side, as we have to research more about them,” he said. The country’s victorious stars are expected back home today.

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