Africa-Press – Eswatini. Sihlangu have to swim with the sharks in the journey to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted the 2026 FIFA World Cup preliminary round of qualifiers in the continent yesterday.
It will be a tough one for Eswatini after the draw, as conducted yesterday in Ivory Coast, soon after the CAF 45th Ordinary General Assembly. Sihlangu were drawn against five rivals in Group D. These are giants and five-time African champions; Cameroon, Libya, Cape Verde, Angola and Mauritius.
Notably, in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers, Cape Verde was among Eswatini’s rivals. In the two-legged fixture, Cape Verde won 1-0 before being held to a goalless draw. These are the latest opponents for Sihlangu under the revised format for the Confederation of Africa (CAF) World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. The qualifiers will begin in November, this year, until 2025, which means they will be played over a two year period.
Better
Given this draw, Eswatini will have to do a lot better than in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations 2023 Qualifiers and COSAFA Cup 2023. Eswatini has failed in AFCCON qualification for the 2023 edition to be played next January, while also failing to go past the group stage in the COSAFA Cup despite playing ‘B-squads’ in some of their three matches. The draw was attended by the CAF Executive led by President Dr. Patrice Motsepe and African legends in the likes of Asamoah Gyan and Jay-Jay Okocha, among others. The 54-member associations of CAF were divided into nine groups of six teams each. Each team will play twice against every other team in their group in a round-robin format. Each nation will, therefore, play a total of 10 matches (five home and five away).
The nine teams that win their respective groups will qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Best four group runners-up enter play-offs and winners qualify for inter-confederation tournament. Reacting to the draw, Sihlangu Captain Lindo Mkhonta conceded the tough journey ahead.
Pushovers
“It is once again a group of death and complaining will not help but we have to hold the bull by its horn now. No matter how strong they come, they will fall one-by-one as the boys have proven themselves each day that they are no longer pushovers. We have to capitalise on being the group’s closed book and intensify preparations for a fair campaign,” he said. Meanwhile, Sihlangu Coach Dominic Kunene could not be sought for immediate comment after the draw yesterday.
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