Head coach of the Mambas of Mozambique, Chiquinho Conde, believes that not dropping a single point in their six TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 qualifiers will be crucial in the southern African nation’s ambitions of appearing in their sixth AFCON finals.
The Mambas have been drawn into a highly unpredictable Group I, consisting of West African powerhouse Mali, Guinea-Bissau, as well as the rising Eswatini, who are yearning for their first-ever AFCON experience.
Speaking to CAFOnline.com about his team’s chances of qualification, which requires them to at least finish second in the dicey group, the former Mambas skipper said anything less than a victory must be a draw, as every single point mattered in such a tricky group of contenders.
“We need to do our homework, work together, focus on our first game in September against Mali, work hard, and create synergies to have a good game. For our team, if we can’t win, we must not lose—that’s our motto. We must humbly respect our opponents and take it game by game,” said the 58-year-old tactician.
Despite not advancing from the group stages of the TotalEnergies AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire earlier this year, the Mambas were one of the surprise packages of the competition, causing one of the tournament’s biggest upsets after coming from two goals down to hold Ghana to a 2-2 draw that saw the Black Stars shockingly bow out of the competition.
Mozambique also held Egypt to the same scoreline stalemate in their opening match.
Commenting on the quality of opposition in the group, Conde said the group should not be taken lightly because it does not contain any former AFCON champions, as that can be misleading in how far African football has grown in recent times.
“Over the past three years, we have achieved good results and had an above-average AFCON. We must also understand that often when we think theoretically about playing against lower-caliber teams like Eswatini, it can be misleading. We need to do our homework, work together, focus on our first game in September against Mali, work hard, and create synergies to have a good game. African football has grown. We must humbly respect our opponents and take it game by game,” concluded the coach.
Mozambique kicks off their qualifiers campaign away from home with a clash against Mali, before taking on Guinea-Bissau and Eswatini in the rest of the qualifiers.
All qualifiers will be on a home-and-away basis to determine the top two finishers that will secure their tickets to Morocco.
Bellow are the Group I full fixtures:
- MALI Vs MOZAMBIQUE
- GUINEA BISSAU Vs ESWATINI
- MOZAMBIQUE Vs GUINEA BISSAU
- ESWATINI Vs MALI
- MALI Vs GUINEA BISSAU
- MOZAMBIQUE Vs ESWATINI
- GUINEA BISSAU Vs MALI
- ESWATINI Vs MOZAMBIQUE
- MOZAMBIQUE Vs MALI
- ESWATINI Vs GUINEA BISSAU
- GUINEA BISSAU Vs MOZAMBIQUE
- MALI Vs ESWATINI
