MAMBAS CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS
Mozambique coach Mart Nooij believes his side will make it out of their first round group at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Angola from January 10-31.
The Mambas are one of four COSAFA countries appearing in the African showpiece, along with the hosts, Zambia and Malawi, and have been drawn in Group C along with defending champions Egypt, Nigeria and Benin.
They qualified for the finals with some excellent displays against the likes of traditional heavyweights Nigeria and Tunisia, and Nooij believes this should give his team confidence going into the finals proper.
“We don’t have any reason to fear anyone,” he told NextSports. “We have shown that we have every right to be in Angola and I think it should be we that the big teams should be afraid of and not the other way round.
“Egypt want to win again and so do Nigeria, but we haven’t been to this competition in over a decade. They have always done well in the competition but I don’t expect us to leave after the first round and so do our fans.”
Nooij has chosen the high-lying town of Songo to help his side prepare for the tournament, with their base lying some 3 000 feet above sea level. He hopes that the training at altitude will give his side the stamina to play a running game against the big guns in the group.
The foreign-based players in the Mozambique squad will arrive in camp on December 27, with the team's opening game against Benin in Benguela on January 12.