Africa-Press – Eswatini. MINISTER of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Bongani Nzima has encouraged Sihlangu players to represent the country well and beat Somalia in the AFCON Qualifiers match.
The minister was represented by Director of Sports Mangaliso Simelane during the departure of the senior men’s national team Sihlangu Semnikati at the EFA Technical Centre in Lobamba yesterday.
Sihlangu will start their bid to qualify for the continental showpiece in Morocco (away game) before the second leg a few days later.
“Government and the whole of Parliament are hungry to watch the national team play at Somhlolo National Stadium. They cannot wait to see the national team score goals and win.
This time around there is hope that all preparations went well and that we will get a great result. We wish the team a safe trip,” Nzima said.
He went on to say they were not expecting Sihlangu to lose to a nation that had recently started competing on the international stage.
“We are not expecting you to lose to Somalia given that they had been a nation that was going through famine and civil war some years back. Looking at our national team, it gives us confidence that we are sending a strong side as we watched some players in action during the Ingwenyama Cup and they performed well.
A positive result will bring the nation together because we know sport in general, particularly football, can lift the mood and spirit of the country,” added the minister.
The travelling squad is made up of a 20-man team with only two internationally based players joining the Dominic Kunene led side. The match will be played on Wednesday in Morocco with kick-off set for 6pm local time.
Meanwhile, head coach Dominic Kunene commended all the players that had been part of the camp and those that had been selected to play.
“We would like to compliment all the players that were part of the camp for making our job hard for us in terms of who to select.
We understand the importance of the match we are going to play as well as the potential dangers that come with not preparing well for the encounter. What I like about football is that you always reap what you sow, and the boys worked really hard during the camp and we are going to reap great results,” added Kunene.
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