MOZAMBIQUE

Year of formation: 1978 Affiliation FIFA: 1978 Affiliation CAF: 1978 National Stadium: Machava Stadium, Maputo (60 000) National Colours: Red / Black / Red - Black

Mozambique were semifinalists in the 2004 Cosafa Castle Cup, beating both Madagascar and Malawi in earlier round encounters before losing at home to Angola in the last four. It was their best performance since the Mambas finished third in 1997 and when they were fifth-place finishers in 1998. Since the introduction of the knockout competition in 1999, they have reached the quarter-finals three times but had the misfortune of being drawn away to Zambia on each occasion and lost.  Mozambique are one of several Cosafa members who have represented the region at the African Nations Cup finals. The Mambas reached the finals of the African Nations Cup in South Africa in 1996 and again in Burkina Faso in 1998. They were also participants in 1986 African Nations Cup finals in Egypt. The country is most famous for producing some of the most famous African footballing exports to Europe like Eusebio, Hilario, Matateu and Mario Coluna, who now serves as president of the Mozambican Football Federation. All theses players were lost to Portugal before independence in 1975, but since then Mozambique have set out to create their own identity in the world of soccer.

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