SIHLANGU DANGEROUS – TOGO COACH

MBABANE – Togo national team coach Paulo Duarte feels Sihlangu will not be pushovers in tomorrow’s TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifier.

Dominic Kunene’s troops are away in Lome, Togo, for their group opener against the Sparrowhawks, as the Togolese national football side are widely known. Action gets underway at 6pm Eswatini time. The Portuguese coach (Duarte) was quoted by Africa Foot United, a renowned francophone football site saying Eswatini was not a team to be overlooked. “Eswatini is overlooked by everyone and it is very dangerous,” he warned. While the Sparrowhawks are said to be pumped up for their first outing against Eswatini, coach Duarté remains cautious. “Everyone is neglecting Eswatini and it is dangerous. It’s not the same team we beat before. They will take points from a lot of teams in our group,” said Duarte.

Sihlangu, who are also in the same qualifying group as Burkina Faso and Cape Verde, lost 0-6 the last time they were in Togo back on October 11, 2008. The national outfit had caused an upset by winning 2-1 in the reverse fixture at Somhlolo National Stadium. Duarte reminded his troops that during the qualifiers for the last AFCON which was played in Cameroon, Eswatini stood their ground to force Congo and current champions Senegal to goalless and 1-all stalemates, respectively. Sought for reaction to the comments, Kunene maintained that they would respect the opponents and would avoid mistakes. “When you play against the best, you must avoid committing too many mistakes,” he said.

Technically

Meanwhile, as Sihlangu will technically play both their TotalEnergies AFCON Qualifiers against Togo and Burkina Faso away, local fans will be relieved that they will not miss out. This is because both games will be broadcast live on pay-per-view channel SuperSport. The first game is in Lome against Togo tomorrow. It will be showcased live on SuperSport PSL at 6pm Eswatini time. The Burkina Faso clash will also be played at 6pm next Tuesday. The match will also be live on SuperSport PSL. It is supposed to be played here in Eswatini but the country is forced to host it in Johannesburg, South Africa, as none of the country’s venues have been approved by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). As per the norm, Eswatini is expected to get a share of the ‘cake’ from the broadcast deal of the home match against Burkina Faso.

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