‘SIHLANGU MUST CARRY OWN FOOD TO DJIBOUTI’

MBABANE – Former Sihlangu Manager Polycarp Dlamini has advised the team to prepare to carry its own food when going to Djibouti.

He said during his stint with the team in 2006, they spent about two days in the impoverished country due to lack of flights to Eritrea.
Sihlangu have been pitted against the ‘Shoremen of the Red Sea’ as the team is affectionately called in the 2018 World Cup preliminary draw held in St Petersburg in Russia on Saturday.

“The temperatures there are unbearably hot and the moment you step out of your flight you begin to sweat. But the main problem is the food they serve there. Surely, the team will have to consider plan B in as far as providing food is concerned,” he said.

He said the coach will have to work on the players’ psychological strength so that they can easily withstand the challenges they might encounter in Djibouti.
“It is so hot there that they do not use geysers to heat water. The city is quiet during midday as people are at home; they only work later in the evening and early in the morning. Temperatures can be as high as over 40 degrees Celsius.”
He said the team could benefit a lot from the country’s embassy in Ethiopia in as far as preparing for the game.
He said best idea would be to try and spend as little time as possible in Djibouti.

“They can take some food stuff with them or seek assistance from the Embassy in Addis Ababa. But, in terms of football, Sihlangu has improved a lot and should progress to the next stage,” he said.
Djibouti might be the lowest ranked team in Africa, but Sihlangu captain Tony TT Tsabedze said it would be suicidal to underestimate their opponents.

The two nations will clash in a two-legged 2018 World Cup preliminary round match in October.
The winner of the tie will face Nigeria in another home and away clash.

“It is a fair draw, but people should not read much on the difference in rankings, because in football anything can happen. Guinea was highly ranked when we played them in Morocco, but we were able to win. We would not want to suffer that fate,” he said.

As if echoing his coach Harris ‘Madze’ Bulunga on the tie, Tsabedze said the team would have to ensure that it had enough time to prepare for the Djibouti match.
“We are playing Malawi if not mistaken before the Djibouti game, which means that we will have to first focus on the first task then we can start thinking about the latter. All games are important, and as players we would appreciate the prospect of facing Nigeria, who are one of the best teams in the continent. It is always good to play the best especially if you have high ambitions.”

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