Forces dominate Sihlangu squad
MBABANE – National team Sihlangu gaffer Dominic Kunene announced his tentative squad dominated by the forces teams for the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round against Somalia next month.
The former Young Buffaloes coach name the 27-man squad, which is without any international player in a media briefing graced by Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi ‘Rhoo’ Radebe, held at the Sigwaca House yesterday.
The forces teams, Green Mamba, Young Buffaloes and Royal Leopard contributed 15 players, as MTN defending champions, the Correctional Services outfit, have six players, Buffaloes have four, while Ingwe Mabalabala have five players in the squad.
ABSENTEES
The squad had notable absentees, in Mbabane Highlanders Skipper Philani ‘Mkasabuli’ Mkhonto, Buffaloes Sihlangu Mkhwanazi and on-form Mbabane Swallows seasoned goalkeeper Sandanezwe ‘Sanda’ Mathabela. Kunene, however, said the doors were not yet closed as more players could also find their way into the national team set up.
“The international players will join us during the FIFA week as their teams cannot release them now. We have not closed the doors yet as we are monitoring other players even in the national first division,” Kunene said.
He highlighted that the national team was not for premier league players only, as even a regional player could make it in the squad. It is worth mentioning that Manzini Sea Birds striker Joseph Kibongi is also part of the squad, but the coach revealed that Kibongi’s inclusion was purely for training him for future matches.
“We are going to train these players while preparing for the game against Somalia, which we know that it won’t be an easy one,” he said.
REPLICA
Kunene said the reason behind that was the fact that the fixture was a replica of the qualifiers of the recent ended 2023 TotalEnergies AFCON, which was won by Ivory Coast, the host nation. Sihlangu were drawn against the Ocean Stars, which Eswatini won 5-1 on aggregate.
When quizzed on when the squad would get into full-time camp, Kunene said, for now, they would use Mondays for training until the full logistics were finalised.
Meanwhile, the first leg of the preliminary match in penned for March 20, 2024, away in Somalia, while the second leg is six day later.