By Sibusiso Masilela
There is no stopping the rare Sihlangu-malintisis sickness which eats away the fibre of the senior national team. The nation’s pride continued with its losing streak in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with a 2-0 loss to Cape Verde at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday afternoon in a delayed match due to heavy rains.
This was the second loss on the trot for the senior national side after their 1-0 slender defeat to Libya on Friday at the same venue. The Dominic Kunene-led charges failed to redeem the image of the long-suffering emaSwati who once again endured pain due to their beloved national side’s continuous poor showing on the international scenes.
The Islanders further maintained dominance over the local lads after their recent 1-0 win over the national side in the recent 2023 AFCON qualifiers. The kick-off was delayed for 1 hour, and 15 minutes due to inclement weather in the Mpumalanga province.
Kunene entrusted the same starting line which started against Libya such as Khanyakwezwe Shabalala, Mxolisi Manana, Kwakhe Tfwala, Sibongakonkhe Silenge, Samkelo Ginindza, Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa and Njabulo ‘Magwegwe’ Magagula, among others.
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The visitors were off to a bright start into the match as they drew first blood through Ryan Mendes’s header from a corner. Sihlangu were unable to respond to the opener as the visitors doubled the advantage six minutes before the break-through of a Jamiro Monterio strike which gave the visitors a two-goal cushion heading to the breather.
Kunene made changes during the second half after bringing in the likes of Neliswa ‘Tiger ‘Dlamini, Ayanda Gadlela for Njabulo Magagula and Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa, among others to try and change fortunes for the home side.
The loss on Tuesday leaves the Dominic Kunene-led side at the bottom of the table as they are the only side without a point having lost both of their opening matches. The qualifiers continue next year. Sihlangu will play Angola on June 3, 2024, Mauritius five days later and the rest of the fixture will be played in 2025.
