Kickoff
(Cape Town)
8 October 2008
Swaziland are to depart from Johannesburg today for their key World Cup qualifier against Togo without striker Siza Dlamini.
The Jomo Cosmos forward is injured and was not selected in the final 18 which coach Ephraim Mashaba named on Tuesday night after the final training for the Swazi side.
Mashaba has also dropped veteran striker Mfanzile Dlamini, who previously played in South Africa.
Denis Masina of SuperSport United and Maritzburg United winger Tony Tsabedze are the two PSL-based players in the squad.
Swaziland had planned a friendly warm-up against Lesotho in Boksburg on Tuesday night, but that was cancelled after the two countries failed to get the arrangements in place in time.
Instead, the Swazi side left by bus for OR Tambo International Airport where they will catch their plane to Accra.
The Ghana capital hosts the match against Togo on neutral ground.
A 1-0 away win for Sihlangu would be enough for them to usurp Zambia in top place in Group 11 and progress to the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers.
Swaziland have never before got this far in World Cup of African Nations Cup qualifying.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's 2010 Fifa World Cup hopes suffered a body blow yesterday after England-based captain Benjani Mwaruwari was ruled out of the Warriors' last Group 2 qualifier against Namibia set for Windhoek on Saturday.
Mwaruwari was scheduled for a return to the Warriors fold after missing Zimbabwe's last qualifier against Guinea on September 7 at Rufaro Stadium, which ended in a disappointing goalless draw.
That stalemate cost Zimbabwe an automatic place in the last draw of the 2010 qualifiers, with Group 2 rivals Kenya and Guinea now headed for a showdown in Conakry, Guinea on Saturday that will settle who claims the sole ticket from this pool.
The Harambee Stars head into the weekend matches leading Group 2 on 10 points, while Syli Nationale are second on eight, Warriors third on six and Namibia's Brave Warriors last on three points.
Zimbabwe national team assistant manager Charles Dzvairo confirmed Mwaruwari - who was injured in August during pre-season training with club side Manchester City-is out of the tie, and so are Cyprus-based defender Noel Kaseke and Dynamos midfielder Justice Majabvi.
"Benjani will not be coming for the Namibia match as he has not fully recovered from injury. Noel Kaseke has also communicated that he received a knock two weeks ago, and has, therefore, been ruled out. Justice Majabvi is also out through injury after pulling a thigh muscle in training last week. But the rest of the players are in camp and are looking forward to Saturday's match," said Dzvairo.
Zimbabwe face Namibia chasing an unlikely place in the final qualification process, with the Warriors still fancying their chances of being among the eight best runners-up from the 12 qualifying pools.
A loss for Guinea- and a win for Zimbabwe- will see the Warriors claim second spot behind Kenya, and with it, an outside chance of sneaking into the final draw.
On the other hand, a win for Guinea will blow the Warriors out of the equation with both the Harambee Stars and Syli Nationale making it to the final draw.
Kenya, meanwhile, is prepared for a hostile reception in Conakry when they take on Guinea.
"It is always difficult playing in West Africa. Everybody seems to be against you: From the crowd, the reception and the referees. We know it will be hard playing in Conakry," says team captain Robert Mambo, a veteran of many similar encounters, said.
"We know this is business. It is a very important match for us since we are still not guaranteed 100 percent of qualifying and need good results to secure qualification," he added.
Rwanda-based midfielder Michael Ssebalinga yesterday got a surprise call to the national fold ahead of Uganda's decisive qualifier against Benin on Sunday.
Keen for more pace in attack, assistant coaches Sam Ssimbwa and Jackson Mayanja opted for the former Nile and SC Villa player though the irony is that Ssebalinga, now at Atraco FC, has never been blessed with searing pace.
Uganda's South-Africa based trio of Posnet Omwony, Timothy Batabaire and Geoffrey Sserunkuma returned to their homeland on Monday night.
Saturday fixtures:
Tanzania v Cape Verde Islands
Cameroon v Mauritius
Namibia v Zimbabwe
Equatorial Guinea v South Africa
Nigeria v Sierra Leone
Gabon v Libya
Ghana v Lesotho
Liberia v Algeria
Senegal v Gambia
Botswana v Mozambique
Ivory Coast v Madagascar
Rwanda v Ethiopia
Morocco v Mauritania
Tunisia v Seychelles
Mali v Chad
Togo v Swaziland
Malawi v Congo DR
Sunday fixtures:
Guinea v Kenya
Uganda v Benin
Angola v Niger
Burundi v Burkina Faso
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