Home | Sports | IN FINAL SIHLANGU WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS SQUAD: MANYISA, GADLELA DROPPED!

IN FINAL SIHLANGU WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS SQUAD: MANYISA, GADLELA DROPPED!

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LOBAMBA – Ahead of the back-to-back 2026 World Cup Qualifiers matches, five players were sidelined from the travelling national team Sihlangu, set to face Angola and Mauritius.

Eswatini will face Angola tomorrow at the 48 000-seater 11 November Stadium at 4pm in the third Group D match. They will then fly to Mauritius for their fourth match on Tuesday. The team departed yesterday by road to connect a flight in South Africa (SA) en route to Angola. Before leaving, Head Coach Dominic Kunene dropped five players from the initial 26-member squad.

Headlining the list of dropped players are Mbabane Swallows duo of midfield kingpin Leon ‘Schuster’ Manyisa and marksman Ayanda ‘Gandaganda’ Gadlela. The former had been recently recalled to national team duties after recovering from an injury setback in the 2022/23 season. Meanwhile, Gadlela has been a regular, forming part of the squad that eliminated Somalia in the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. He was also part of the team during the first World Cup qualifiers matches played last November against Libya and Egypt.

The other dropped players include Green Mamba’s shot-stopper Xolani Gama and defender Xolani Dlamini. Illovo’s centre-back Samukeliso Ginindza completes the list. Notably, DStv Premiership side Richards Bay’s Justice Figuareido, initially got a call-up, but was unable to join the national outfit due to his team commitments.  ‘The Natal Rich Boys’ as Richards Bay are known, are fighting for their top-tier league status in the play-offs after finishing 15th in the league. Speaking on behalf of the Eswatini Football Association (EFA), Vice President Steve Horton was optimistic that the team would achieve good results in both matches. “I believe that the team that has been selected, along with its technical bench, will bring something positive home. The football association has been trying, and we know that building a national team takes time,” Horton said.

Bottom

Sihlangu are currently at the bottom of Group D, without a win after two matches played. “I was hoping that when they come back from Mauritius, they will directly go to COSAFA. We had shared our COSAFA expectations with the coaches: we want to play a young team; we want to build for the future. We plead with the nation to be patient with the coaches and players; it’s a learning curve for everyone,” he said. Sihlangu Head Coach Dominic Kunene said they understood exactly what it meant going into these games. “The team is well-prepared, and we have an injury-free squad. The players are committed to getting good results,” Kunene said.

Meanwhile, Captain Sifiso ‘Ayoba’ Matse echoed the coach’s words and said they were fully prepared for these clashes. Despite being at the bottom of the group, Matse said they still had a chance to progress. “We are prepared for both matches. In terms of our future in the competition, it is not yet over, regardless of our sloppy start in the qualifiers, as anything can happen in football,” Matse said. Sihlangu is expected back next week Wednesday. Bidding the team farewell was Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Bongani Nzima, who urged the national team, to make history and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.  He was speaking through the ministry’s Director, Lucky Sihlongonyane.

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