Mozambique Under-20 manager Dario Monteiro believes his team has what it takes to go toe to toe with Egypt in their Group A opener at the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations hosted by the North Africans.
The Southeastern African nation are making it into the tournament for the second time in their history after qualifying for the previous edition in Mauritania, where they ended with a group stage exit, finishing last in Group A behind Cameroon, Uganda and tournament hosts Mauritania with no points.
Monteiro, however, is of the view that the team can do much better this time around, starting with their game against the Young Pharaohs later today at 3pm WAT at the Cairo International Stadium.
“We have a group of local players and well-trained players to compete with Egypt,” the former Mozambican international said on the CAF website.
“Egypt is a football nation, and we respect them very much, and we also respect the team because they have good players. Our focus is on the match, and we will not talk about anything because we are focused on the first match which is against Egypt.”
2021 #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 delivered us some priceless moments 😍
It is almost time for the 2023 edition ⌛️pic.twitter.com/me3bRmdaan
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 (@CAF_Online) February 18, 2023
Mozambique made it to the U-20 AFCON by finishing as runners-up in the 2022 COSAFA U-20 Cup, losing 1-0 to Zambia in the final. They topped Group B in the tournament with a 100% record ahead of Angola, Lesotho and Seychelles before going on to defeat South Africa 2-1 in the semi-finals.
The Mambas and the Young Pharaohs are in Group A along with Senegal’s Young Lions of Teranga and the Flying Eagles of Nigeria, with the latter two set to match up three hours after the opening game.
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