Prediction Africa Cup of Nations - Somalia vs Eswatini

Africa Cup of Nations - Somalia vs Eswatini
Match Time: 20-03-2024 23:59 Wednesday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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These two sides also met in the preliminary round of the 2023 AFCON, which Eswatini won 5-1 on aggregate to book their place in the Group B of the competition alongside Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Togo.

Unfortunately, despite a spirited effort, Sihlangu Semnikati were unable to progress to the main draw as they ended bottom of their qualification group with three points, failing to win any of their six matches (W0 D3 L3).

At 149th according to FIFA Rankings, Eswatini is the highest-ranked of the eight teams that will contest the preliminary rounds and are the bookmakers' early favourites to reach the group-stage qualifiers.

While Dominic Kunene's side did reach the COSAFA Cup quarter-finals last year, their overall record remains relatively poor, with just one win in their last 15 matches in all competitions, including defeats in both of their 2026 World Cup qualifiers in November last year.

Meanwhile, Somalia head into these qualifiers ranked 198th according to the most recent FIFA Rankings, making them the 13th-lowest-ranked side in the world and the second-lowest in the CAF region, only ahead of Seychelles, who have been excluded from the competition, and unranked Eritrea.

While the team has improved its world ranking over the last few years, there remains much work to be done to rejuvenate football in the country, though real progress will rely heavily on their ability to qualify for major continental and world competitions such as this one.

The Ocean Stars have yet to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations or the FIFA World Cup, but they have participated in numerous qualifying matches in both tournaments, with their first-ever victory in a World Cup qualifier coming in September 2019, when they defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 in the first leg encounter.

Somalia have had limited game time in recent years, and their performance in the few matches played have been underwhelming, suffering defeats in all four games in 2023, including losses in their World Cup qualifiers, falling 3-1 to Algeria and 1-0 against Uganda last November.

Prediction: Somalia 0-2 Eswatini