What are the facts?

Chiefs have taken note of Dove’s progress at Afcon, and judging by their reaction on how he performed, it seems that the club has been impressed.

Following Mozambque’s 2-2 draw against Egypt, the Naturena side commented glowingly about the defender’s performance on their official website.

“Amakhosi defender Edmilson Dove put in a masterful performance in Mozambique’s opening match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) against Egypt on Sunday, as the Mambas came agonisingly close to upsetting the Pharaohs in their Group B encounter at the Felix Houphouet Boigny stadium in Abidjan,

Ivory Coast,” Chiefs said, in part.

“Dove was a standout at the back for Mozambique, repeatedly repelling waves of Egyptian attacks, as they tried vainly to hold on for what would have been their first-ever victory at an Afcon tournament,” the club stated.

Meanwhile, Dove said, as quoted on Chiefs’ website, “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. Obviously, we were playing one of the best national teams in Africa, but our coach told us at half-time to keep believing in ourselves and the process we have been working on throughout the entire qualification campaign, and we came out for the second half with some confidence and a desire to put in more effort, and we turned things around. Obviously, we wanted to take all three points, but in the end, a draw is still a positive outcome and now our focus shifts to our two remaining games.”

The Mozambican international will be expected to play a pivotal role for his national team in their quest to advance to the next round of the competition as they will be taking on Cape Verde at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Friday in their second fixture of the group stages.

For Amakhosi, the dreadlocked man has made eight appearances so far this season and scored one goal since recovering from an injury that troubled him earlier in the campaign.