WCQ: Mozambique out for vengeance against Cameroon
Mozambique will be seeking revenge when they host Cameroon in a 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification Group D match at the Grand Stade de Tanger in Morocco on Monday.
Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).
The Mambas succumbed to their second successive defeat in Group D when they were thrashed 3-1 by Cameroon away with Geny scoring what proved to be the visitors’ consolation goal.
The defeat left Mozambique in fourth place on the group standings with only one point from three matches and they need to defeat Cameroon in order to keep their hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup finals alive.
Horacio Gonçalves, the Mozambique head coach, admitted that Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions were the better side, but he remains hopeful that they can stun the 2017 African champions.
“We lost today against a great team from Cameroon which performed better during the 90 minutes of the match,” Gonçalves told the media.
“But we have 72 hours to prepare for Monday’s match. We hope to be better than today because every game is a different story.”
Meanwhile, Cameroon returned to winning ways in style when they thrashed Mozambique having suffered a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast away last month, before they took on the Mambas.
The victory over Mozambique saw the Indomitable Lions remain second on the group standings – a point behind leaders Ivory Coast as the two giants of African football battle to finish at the top of the table.
Toni Conceiçao, the Cameroon head coach, was satisfied by his charges’ performance in their convincing victory over Mozambique, but he insisted that it was not easy ahead of their second meeting in Group D.
“I’m satisfied with the team’s performance. The players applied the instructions despite the lack of precision in the final third, especially from the cross,” Conceiçao told the media.
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“We only have two days to work on our systems and two and a half days of recovery between games, so it’s tough. I am generally satisfied with the performance of my players.”
The last time Mozambique hosted Cameroon in a competitive match was in November 2020.
The Indomitable Lions claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over the Mambas in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Maputo.