Mozambique national football team

Mozambique
Nickname(s) Os Mambas
Association Mozambique Football Federation
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation COSAFA
(Southern Africa)
Head coach Abel Xavier
Captain Dominguês
Top scorer Tico-Tico (27)[1]
Home stadium Estádio do Zimpeto
FIFA code MOZ
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 108 Decrease 13 (24 November 2016)
Highest 66 (November 1997)
Lowest 134 (July 2005, September 2006)
Elo ranking
Current 118 Increase 3
Highest 85 (September 1985)
Lowest 147 (July 2000)
First international
 Mozambique 1–2 Tanzania 
(Mozambique; 12 December 1977)
Biggest win
 Mozambique 6–1 Lesotho 
(Mozambique; 10 August 1980)
 Mozambique 5–0 South Sudan 
(Mozambique; 18 May 2014)
Biggest defeat
 Zimbabwe 6–0 Mozambique Mozambique
(Salisbury, Zimbabwe; 20 April 1980)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 4 (first in 1986)
Best result Group stage, 1986, 1996, 1998 and 2010

The Mozambique national football team (Portuguese: Seleção Moçambicana de Futebol), popularly known as Os Mambas, represents Mozambique in association football and is controlled by the Federação Moçambicana de Futebol, the governing body for football in Mozambique. Mozambique have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, but they have qualified for four Africa Cup of Nations in 1986, 1996, 1998 and most recently the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, being eliminated in the first round in all four. Mozambique are currently ranked 116th in the FIFA World Rankings, with their highest ever ranking of 66th in November 1996.

Mozambique's home ground is Estádio do Zimpeto in the capital city Maputo, and can hold 45,000 spectators. The team's current head coach is the former Portugal international Abel Xavier, who has been in charge since February 2016.[2]

History

First game

Mozambique played its first match against Tanzania in 1977, losing the match 2–1. They first qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in 1986, but were knocked out in the first round. Mozambique never qualified for another 10 years until 1996. Again being knocked out in the first round of the tournament.

1986 African Nations Cup

Mozambique qualified for its first Africa Cup of Nations in 1986, held in Egypt, beating Mauritius 3–0 in the preliminary round. In the first round of qualifying, Mozambique played Malawi, drawing both legs of the match, they eventually won 6–5 on penalties. In the second round of qualifying they played Libya, losing the first leg 2–1. They won the second leg 2–1 and then went on to win the match 4–3 on penalties, Qualifying for the tournament.

Mozambique were placed in Group A along with Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and hosts Egypt. They lost all their games 3–0, 2–0 and 2–0, not scoring a single goal. Egypt went on to win the tournament on home soil.

1996 African Cup of Nations

Mozambique had to wait 10 years to qualify for another Africa Cup of Nations, as they qualified for the 1996 tournament in South Africa. They were placed in Group D along with Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Tunisia. Mozambique played their first game against Tunisia in Port Elizabeth, drawing 1–1 with Tico-Tico scoring in the 4th minute. They then went on to lose 1–0 to Côte d'Ivoire and 2–0 to Ghana, thus eliminating them from the tournament.

1998 African Cup of Nations

Two years later, Mozambique qualified for their third Africa Cup of Nations held in Burkina Faso. They were again placed in group D along with Morocco, Egypt and Zambia. Mozambique lost their first game against eventual tournament winners Egypt 2–0, both goals coming from Hossam Hassan. In their second game they again lost to Morocco 3–0, therefore eliminating them from the tournament with one game still remaining. In their last game against Zambia, they drew 1–1, their first goal of the tournament. This would prove to be their last African Cup of Nations game for 12 years.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Mozambique entered the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification in the second round, and were placed in Group 7 with Botswana, Madagascar and African football giants Côte d'Ivoire. They made a terrible start to qualifying, losing to Côte d'Ivoire and minnows Botswana 1–0 and 2–1, and drawing 1–1 with Madagascar. Mozambique then went on to beat Madagascar 3–0 in Antananarivo with goals coming from Tico-Tico, Carlitos and Domingues. They then drew 1–1 with Côte d'Ivoire and beat Botswana 1–0 in Gaborone to qualify for the third Round.

Mozambique were one of the lowest seeded teams in the third round, and were placed in Group B with Nigeria, Tunisia and Kenya. They went on to draw their first game against giants Nigeria 0–0 in Maputo. They then went on to lose their next to games against Tunisia and Kenya 2–0 and 2–1, now making it a struggle to qualify for their first FIFA World Cup. In the next game, they beat Kenya 1–0 with Tico-Tico scoring, but then a loss to Nigeria eliminated them from qualifying. In the last game they beat Tunisia 1–0 in a surprising victory that stopped Tunisia from qualifying. Despite not qualifying for the World Cup they still qualified for the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola.

2010 African Cup of Nations

After a 12-year absence from African Cup of Nations football, Mozambique were placed in Group C with Egypt, Nigeria and Benin. In their first game, they played Benin Benguela drawing 2–2 after being 2–0 down, with goals coming from Miro and Fumo. They then went on to lose 2–0 to eventual tournament winners Egypt and 3–0 to Nigeria, thus eliminating them from the tournament. After the tournament, all-time top scorer and captain Tico-Tico retired from international football.

2012 African Cup of Nations

Mozambique were drawn in Group C for 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying along with Libya, Zambia and Comoros. They drew 0–0 with Libya in their first game and followed it up with 1–0 win away to the Comoros. But two straight losses of 2–0 (home) and 3–0 (away) to Zambia left The Black Mambas qualification hopes in tatters. Failure to qualify was confirmed with a third straight defeat in a 1–0 away loss to Libya. They would finish their campaign with a moral restoring 3–0 home drubbing of the Comoros.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Zambia 6411112+913
 Libya 633061+512
 Mozambique 621346−27
 Comoros 6015214−121

2013 African Cup of Nations

For the 2013 edition of the African Cup of Nations, Mozambique was drawn against Tanzania in the First Round of qualifying. After a 2–2 aggregate draw over two legs they defeated Tanzania 7–6 in the ensuing penalty shootout, recovering from missing their first two penalties. With their victory, Mozambique progressed to the Second Round of qualifying where they will be drawn from Pot 2 which houses teams ranked 16th – 30th.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Mozambique entered the 2014 FIFA World Cup CAF qualification process in the First Round. For the First Round they were seeded in Pot 1 and were drawn against the Comoros. They won both legs of the tie, opening with a hard-fought 1–0 away win before comprehensively outclassing the islanders 4–1 in the home leg. With the win, they secured their passage to the Second Round where they were seeded in Pot 4 for the draw. Mozambique were drawn in Group G, along with African powerhouse Egypt, Southern Africa neighbours Zimbabwe and West Africans Guinea. They opened their group campaign with a 2–0 away loss to group favourites Egypt before returning home and earning a point against Zimbabwe in a goalless draw. They then drew with Guinea, before a disappointing 6–1 loss to Guinea in the return fixture that eliminated them from the competition.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Egypt 6600167+918
 Guinea 6312128+410
 Mozambique 6033210−83
 Zimbabwe 602449−52

World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
1930 to 1978Did not enter
Spain 1982Did not qualify
Mexico 1986Did not enter
Italy 1990Entry rejected
1994 to 2018Did not qualify
Qatar 2022To be determined
Total0/21

African Nations Cup record

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 0
Appearances: 4
Year Position Year Position Year Position Year Position
Sudan 1957Did not enterEthiopia 1976Did not enterTunisia 1994Did not qualifyGabon Equatorial Guinea 2012 Did not qualify
Egypt 1959Did not enterGhana 1978Did not enterSouth Africa 1996Round 1South Africa 2013 Did not qualify
Ethiopia 1962Did not enterNigeria 1980Did not enterBurkina Faso 1998Round 1Equatorial Guinea 2015 Did not qualify
Ghana 1963Did not enterLibya 1982Did not qualifyGhanaNigeria 2000Did not qualify
Tunisia 1965Did not enterIvory Coast 1984Did not qualifyMali 2002Did not qualify
Ethiopia 1968Did not enterEgypt 1986Round 1Tunisia 2004Did not qualify
Sudan 1970Did not enterMorocco 1988Did not qualifyEgypt 2006Did not qualify
Cameroon 1972Did not enterAlgeria 1990Did not qualifyGhana 2008Did not qualify
Egypt 1974Did not enterSenegal 1992Did not qualifyAngola 2010 Round 1

Recent results

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Tanzania on 20 July 2014.[3]
Caps and goals as of 20 July 2014.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Victor Soares (1984-02-09) 9 February 1984 10 0 Mozambique Costa do Sol
1GK Ricardo Campos (1985-07-14) 14 July 1985 7 0 Portugal União Madeira
1GK Milagre (1991-10-28) 28 October 1991 0 0 Mozambique Liga Muçulmana
2DF Miró (1982-04-30) 30 April 1982 61 7 Angola Bravos do Maquis
2DF Dario Khan (1981-01-24) 24 January 1981 44 2 Mozambique Costa do Sol
2DF Mexer (1987-09-08) 8 September 1987 28 1 France Rennes
2DF Zainadine Júnior (1988-06-24) 24 June 1988 23 0 China Tianjin Teda
2DF Dito (1986-04-02) 2 April 1986 3 0 Mozambique Costa do Sol
2DF Reinildo Mandava (1994-01-21) 21 January 1994 1 0 Portugal Benfica B
2DF Boné Uaferro (1992-01-04) 4 January 1992 0 0 Germany Fortuna Köln
2DF Jeffrey Obst (1993-11-25) 25 November 1993 0 0 Germany Schwarz-Weiß Rehden
2DF Gelício Banze (1994-06-15) 15 June 1994 0 0 Germany Meuselwitz
3MF Domingues (Captain) (1983-11-13) 13 November 1983 51 10 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
3MF Momed Hagi (1985-05-29) 29 May 1985 42 2 Mozambique Liga Muçulmana
3MF Josemar Machaísse (1987-08-07) 7 August 1987 36 5 Angola Bravos do Maquis
3MF Simão Mate Junior (1988-07-23) 23 July 1988 32 0 Spain Levante
3MF Saddan Guambe (1984-05-25) 25 May 1984 20 0 Mozambique Liga Muçulmana
3MF Telinho (1988-10-15) 15 October 1988 18 0 Mozambique Liga Muçulmana
3MF Eduardo Jumisse (1984-06-06) 6 June 1984 13 0 Angola Primeiro de Agosto
4FW Sonito (1985-08-10) 10 August 1985 17 5 Angola Bravos do Maquis
4FW Hélder Pelembe (1987-09-20) 20 September 1987 16 0 South Africa Orlando Pirates
4FW Manuel Uetimane (1989-04-30) 30 April 1989 16 0 Mozambique Costa do Sol
4FW Mário Sinamunda (1990-09-27) 27 September 1990 14 1 Mozambique Ferroviário Beira
4FW Maninho (1991-03-30) 30 March 1991 11 2 India Minerva
4FW Reginaldo (1990-06-04) 4 June 1990 8 0 Albania Luftetari
4FW Clésio Baúque (1994-10-11) 11 October 1994 7 2 Portugal Benfica B
4FW Isac Carvalho (1989-06-27) 27 June 1989 4 3 Mozambique Maxaquene


Previous squads

Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

  • 2013 (Plate Winners)

References

  1. ↑ Földesi, László. "Manuel José Luis "Tico-Tico" Bucuane – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  2. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35408438
  3. ↑ "Clésio Bauque regressa aos Mambas". Desafio. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
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