Eswatini U-23s one step closer to millions

(At Somhlolo National Stadium)

LOBAMBA – Ambitious Eswatini are three ties away from the Under-23 AFCON finals and a potentially lucrative continental payday as they face Malawi today.

The nation’s pride host Malawi in the decisive first-round second leg of their TotalEnergies CAF Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Somhlolo National Stadium, with kick-off at 3pm.

Eswatini carry a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg and must protect that lead to progress to the second round.

The road to the finals in Egypt consists of three qualifying stages, all played over two legs. Should Eswatini eliminate Malawi, they will face another two-legged tie on November 9 and 17.

The third round will be the final hurdle, with its first and second legs scheduled for March 22 and 30, 2027. The seven winners will qualify for the eight-team finals. The finals will also form part of Africa’s pathway to the men’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Qualification would also put Eswatini in contention for a share of the CAF prize money, with the minimum listed finals reward being US$100 000 (about E1.67 million) for a team finishing fourth in its group.

The CAF-published prize-money document lists US$350 000 (about E5.83 million) for the champions, US$250 000 (E4.17 million) for the runners-up, US$175 000 (E2.92 million) for each semi-finalist, US$150 000 (E2.50 million) for teams finishing third in their groups and US$100 000 (E1.67 million) for fourth-placed teams.

There is no published prize money listed for the qualifying rounds.

Eswatini, therefore, need to navigate potentially six qualifying matches being three home and away before reaching the finals.

Coach Friday Myeni, speaking during yesterday’s pre-match conference at Somhlolo, confirmed his squad is injury-free and expects a tactical battle.

“Our preparations for the second leg went well and the squad is injury free. The approach is to resist and play on the break. Looking at the rankings, every nation always considers us small and throw down everything at us, since we are often overlooked. There may be personal changes here and there depending on how we looked at the game in Malawi,” Myeni said.

The squad has received a boost with the return of Green Mamba striker Bafana Matse and Red Rhinos’ Sukulwenkhosi Sifundza, who missed the first leg while writing examinations.

Myeni also stressed the importance of mental preparation, given the pressure surrounding national-team football.

“Being a smaller nation, we deal more with regards to that. It is so much of a pressure to play for the national team looking at the senior team’s previous results. We always try to prepare the players to take each game as it goes. We believe they are mentally ready,” he said.

He believes keeping the squad together during the recent league programme has strengthened its cohesion.

“They stayed fresher and together. It is good for the team spirit and cohesion. They might have returned with the spirit of rivalry. Looking at the results in some games, they might have returned to camp divided,” Myeni said.

The coach is also bullish about the group’s potential to contribute to the senior Sihlangu.

“I think two thirds of this group would easily make the greats of our senior team with an infusion of some Sihlangu players. The senior team would have a good prospect of performing well, already some have senior team call-ups,” he added.

Captain Luyanda ‘Lux’ Nhlengetfwa said the away victory had given them a better understanding of Malawi.

“We went to Malawi without knowing much about them, but that 1-0 away win gave us valuable lessons. Now we know how they play, we have prepared well, and we are ready to get another positive result,” Nhlengetfwa said.

Conversely, Malawi head coach Bob Mpinganjira says the team is well prepared for the return leg. As per Capital FM Malawi, Mpinganjira says although they have a very good team, the players will need to work hard to secure a positive result. The team has been boosted by the availability of Blue Eagles goalkeeper Precious Masamba and Ekhaya Football Club striker John Mchema, who missed the first leg due to passport issues.

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