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NederlandWith both sides now vying for a third-place finish at this year's COSAFA Cup, Eswatini and Mozambique battle it out at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.
Eswatini were defeated on penalties by Senegal in their semi-final tie, while Mozambique were dumped out by host nation South Africa.
Match preview
Eswatini have been one of the surprise packages of the COSAFA Cup and nearly pulled off another remarkable result as they led Senegal 2-0 at half time when the sides faced off in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
First-half goals from Sabelo Ndzinisa and Sifiso Matse put Dominic Kunene's men in the box seat heading into the break, but Senegal came out fighting in the second period, pulling level through strikes from Pape Massar Djitte and Madicke Kane.
As a result, the contest went into penalties with the Sihlangu Semnikati failing to convert any of their three kicks from 12 yards, which resulted in a straightforward 3-0 victory for Senegal.
Nonetheless, Eswatini have surpassed a lot of expectations and can hold their heads up high after reaching the last four of the tournament for the first time in five years.
After progressing from the group stages by the narrowest of margins, Mozambique saw their COSAFA Cup campaign come to an end following a 3-0 loss to South Africa on Friday.
Horacio Goncalves's men were totally outclassed in an encounter where they fell behind in the first 30 minutes thanks to Njabulo Ngcobo's opener.
Os Mambas were unable to muster a second-half comeback and further went behind just shy of the hour mark as Yusuf Maart was on hand to double his side's lead 13 minutes before Sepana Letsoalo added a third to put the result beyond doubt.
Considering the fact that Mozambique have fallen at the first hurdle in the last three editions of the competition, a semi-final exit in South Africa is a step in the right direction and a sign of more to come.
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Team News
Eswatini's Fanelo Mamba was sent off for two bookable offences four minutes apart and is suspended for Sunday's match.
In Mamba's absence, Justice Figuareido is set to be recalled back into the starting XI, despite not playing any part in the defeat to Senegal.
Melque Melito was hauled off less than 30 minutes into Mozambique's semi-final exit, making the 24-year-old doubtful for this one.
As he did in the aforementioned game, Estevao Novela will come into the side should Melito be deemed unfit to participate.
Eswatini possible starting lineup:
Diamini; Magagula, Mamba, Mkhwanazi, Msibi; Mabelesa, Khethokuhle, Gamedze; Mamba, Figuareido, Ndzinisa
Mozambique possible starting lineup:
Ernan; Muze, Martinho, Simbane, Cigano; Macaime, Salas, Shaquille; Telinho, Novela, Melito
We say: Eswatini 2-1 Mozambique
Both sides will be hurting from their respective semi-final defeats, but a third-place finish is also a laudable achievement by any standard. Eswatini have made a habit of punching above their weight of late, and we are tipping them to come out on top.
