Guinea-Bissau vs Mozambique

Preparations continue to build up towards the final encounter of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers as Guinea-Bissau take on Mozambique on Tuesday evening at the Estadio 24 de Setembro.

Only a victory will allow the hosts entertain thoughts of supra mentioned move to second place in Group I ahead of the visitors while the latter need nothing more than a stalemate to qualify for next year’s tournament in Morocco.

Each of the four previous finals have seen Guinea-Bissau compete, although they have been knocked out in the group stage each time ; still they would have expected they stand a chance this time round.

Luis Boa Morte’s men had '-', starting their journey as participants in the African seniors’ first round of the qualifiers with a very tense 1-0 prevails over Eswatini on September 5, as Bura’s a real hero of the match scoring in the 14th minute of the play.

The Wild Dogs then lost 2-1 And 1-0 Mozambique and Mali respectively to see their continent aspirations dangling on a thread midway through the qualifying process.

They have since been outputting draws with Mali and Eswatini to be third in Group I with five points from five games, three points below the second-placed Mozambique and a further three behind the leaders Mali.

The Tuesday’s hosts will now rush in search of a much-needed victory in front of their fans if they are to continue with their AFCON cycle, something that they last failed to do in 2015.

Mozambique’s Alberto Siluane during the TotalEnergies Caf Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon 2023) match between Cape Verde and Mozambique at Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny on 19/01/2024

Mozambique started their attempt to earn a second consecutive ticket with a 1-1 draw against Mali at the most recent AFCON competition in Ivory Coast earlier this year.

Chiquinho Conde's team would not be denied all three points in their subsequent match against Guinea-Bissau, which resulted in a close 2-1 victory, despite letting go a lead in their first match against Mali.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg and a 3-0 victory in the rematch three days later, Os Mambas earned four points out of a possible six in their two encounters with Eswatini in October.

Despite welcoming Mali to Estadio do Zimpeto on Friday, Mozambique lost 1-0 due to Kamory Doumbia's early opening, putting them within striking distance of a spot in the continental tournament next year.

Tuesday's visitors still have work to do before their final qualifying encounter, where a loss might mean the end of their AFCON hopes, even if they have eight points from their five games thus far.

Carlos Mane is someone to keep a careful eye on since, in just 141 minutes of AFCON qualifying play, he has already recorded one goal and one assist.

Any addition to the starting lineup would probably have to come at the expense of Zidane Banjaqui, 25, since Mane will be vying for a spot.
In the most recent encounter between Tuesday's opponents, Reinildo Mandava was the player of the match for Mozambique, and he will be looking to do well once more.

Domingues Pelembe, who made a record-breaking 117th appearance against Mali last time out, is still playing well for the away team at the age of 41.