SIHLANGU EYES FIXING MISTAKES AGAINST MALI

MBABANE – Eswatini senior men’s national team, Sihlangu is optimistic they will fix their mistakes in their upcoming match against Mali.

This is according to Captain Sifiso ‘Ayoba’ Matse, as he spoke during a post-match interview held after their 1-0 defeat against Guinea-Bissau two days back. A lousy goal in the opening period was enough to deny Eswatini victory in their third date against Guinea-Bissau two days back. The charges were led by the new Croatian Head Coach, Zdravko Logarusic.
While a packed Estadio Nacional 24 de Setembro had to wait for 14 minutes to see a goal, it was Bura who broke the deadlock. Guinea-Bissau earned a free-kick, which forced the midfielder to rise up meeting a blazing-hot Carlos Mane ball inside the 18-yard, thus striking a bullet header past seasoned goalie Sandanezwe Mathabela’s hands.

Sihlangu had visited the foreign land for their 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers quest. Despite creating good chances Sihlangu failed to equalise.
“We played according to the game plan. Despite having spent a few days with our coach, we matched our opponents and were able to create chances. However, we were unfortunate to lose,’’ Matse said.  He said going to the game against Mali, they would have fixed their mistakes.

Mistakes

“The coach was present and he was able to see where our issue was. We going there already needing three points, as the defeat is a setback for us and a draw will not help. We trust that the coach will assist in helping us correct our mistakes,” he further said. For the past two games Sihlangu played have conceded goals and failed to score. The previous game was against South Africa (SA) during the 2024 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup staged in Gqeberha, SA. Following the defeat, Sihlangu looks forward to hosting Mali next week Tuesday. The action will get underway at the iconic Mbombela Stadium. Matse further lauded his teammates for the improvement he is seeing after the arrival of Logarusic.

“Everyone was able to respond well regardless of that he has just joined the team. There are areas of improvement with the hope for more,” he said. However, Mali was played Mozambique yesterday night ahead of Tuesday’s match.  Before their clash, Eswatini was at rock bottom of Group I.

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