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Eswatini

Nickname(s)	Sihlangu Semnikati (King's Shield)
Association	Eswatini Football Association
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach	Dominic Kunene
Captain	Siyabonga Mdluli
Most caps	Tony Tsabedze (71)
Top scorer	Felix Badenhorst Sabelo Ndzinisa (15)
Home stadium	Somhlolo National Stadium
FIFA code	SWZ
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	143 1 (6 October 2022)[1]
Highest	88 (April–May 2017)
Lowest	190 (September–October 2012)
First international
Swaziland 2–0 Malawi  (Swaziland; 1 May 1968)
Biggest win
Djibouti 0–6 Swaziland  (Djibouti City, Djibouti; 9 October 2015)
Biggest defeat
Egypt 10–0 Swaziland  (Alexandria, Egypt; 22 March 2013)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances	19 (first in 1997)
Best result	Third place (2016, 2021)[2] Semifinal (1999, 2002, 2003)
Medal record COSAFA Cup 2016 Namibia Team 2021 South Africa

This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2020)

The Eswatini national football team, nicknamed Sihlangu Semnikati (King's Shield),[3] represents Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, in international football and is controlled by the Eswatini Football Association. It has never qualified for the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations finals. Swaziland's best performance in an international tournament is a semi-final finish in the COSAFA Cup.

On 8 June 2008, they achieved their first win in a World Cup qualifier since 1992, beating 2006 finalists Togo 2–1 on home soil. The team's best recent performance came in 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification where Eswatini finished second in Group L above Guinea and Malawi.

History

Beginnings

The team played its first international match against Malawi, winning 2–0.[4] For the first decade, the national team only played Malawi and Zambia, failing to register a single win from 1969 until 1984, when they beat Lesotho 3–1 in a friendly at home. Following the Lesotho win, Eswatini entered the 1986 African Cup of Nations qualifiers for the first time, losing 1–8 on aggregate to Zimbabwe. The team then entered the 1987 All-Africa Games qualifiers however they lost 2–9 on aggregate against Malawi.

The first time that Eswatini progressed past the first round of a qualifying competition was for the 1990 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, beating Tanzania 3–1 on penalties after drawing the tie 2–2. In the second round they faced Malawi who knocked them out again, 1–3 after two legs. Eswatini next entered the 1990 SADCC Tournament, advancing past the group stage on goal difference ahead of Malawi, before losing to Zimbabwe on penalties (5–3) in the semi-finals following a 4–4 draw after extra-time. In the 1992 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, Eswatini beat Zambia (2–1) during the preliminary group stage but finished in third and failed to progress.

Eswatini entered the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time, but ended up in second place behind Cameroon thereby not advancing to the final round. For the 1998 World Cup first qualification round, Eswatini lost twice to Gabon (0–1 and 0–2) and were eliminated. They failed to make it past the first qualifying round for the inaugural 1997 COSAFA Cup, where they lost 0–4 to Mozambique, and in the 1998 COSAFA Cup where they lost to an own-goal in extra-time against Angola (0–1). Eswatini returned to the 2000 African Cup of Nations qualification matches after missing the previous three tournaments but they fell 2–3 against Madagascar and were eliminated. They managed to qualify for the 1999 COSAFA Cup after beating Mozambique 3–1 in the qualifiers, then beat Zimbabwe in the quarter-finals 4–3 on penalties after drawing 1–1 in regular time, with Bongani Mdluli having scored the equaliser for Eswatini in the 89th minute. In the semi-finals they lost to Namibia on penalties, 2–4.

21st century

Eswatini were eliminated by Angola in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, losing 1–8 on aggregate. They then lost to Kenya in the 2002 African Cup of Nations qualification round 3–5. Their next success in a competition came in the 2002 COSAFA Cup where they qualified ahead of Namibia (2–1) and beat Zimbabwe (2–0) to advance to the semis. There they lost to South Africa (1–4) who would go on to win the tournament. In the 2004 AFCON qualifiers, Eswatini finished third in their group, two points behind Libya and three behind DR Congo therefore missing out on qualification.

In the following tournaments, Eswatini failed to progress past the first qualifying round. They finished bottom of their qualifying groups until 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification where they finished in second on goal-difference ahead of Guinea but were three points off of qualifying, behind Zimbabwe. In the 2018 World Cup qualifying, Eswatini thrashed Djibouti 8–1 over two legs, but were beaten 0–2 by Nigeria to end their hopes of qualification.

Recent results

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2022

2023

Coaches

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches.[5]
• Match dates: 3 and 7 June 2022
• Opposition:  Togo and  Burkina Faso
• Caps and goals correct as of: 15 July 2022, after the match against  Botswana

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Mathabela Sandanezwe	(1989-09-09) 9 September 1989 (age 33)	34	0	Mbabane Swallows
	1GK	Msibi Phephisani	(1994-09-24) 24 September 1994 (age 28)	3	0	Royal Leopards
	1GK	Khanyakwezwe Shabalala	(1993-09-23) 23 September 1993 (age 29)	1	0	Mbabane Highlanders
	2DF	Machawe Dlamini	(1992-08-08) 8 August 1992 (age 30)	44	1	Royal Leopards
	2DF	Lindo Mkhonta	(1991-04-10) 10 April 1991 (age 31)	36	1	Young Buffaloes
	2DF	Siboniso Mamba	(1991-02-24) 24 February 1991 (age 31)	31	2	Young Buffaloes
	2DF	Sihlangu Mkhwanazi	(1989-09-28) 28 September 1989 (age 33)	21	0	Young Buffaloes
	2DF	Siboniso Ngwenya	(1994-05-03) 3 May 1994 (age 28)	18	1	Young Buffaloes
	2DF	Sikhumbuzo Magagula	(1995-05-30) 30 May 1995 (age 27)	11	0	Royal Leopards
	2DF	Kwakhe Thwala	(2002-04-04) 4 April 2002 (age 20)	9	0	Young Buffaloes
	2DF	Mlamuli Msibi	(1997-08-19) 19 August 1997 (age 25)	8	0	Royal Leopards
	2DF	Peter Dlamini	(1997-03-25) 25 March 1997 (age 25)	5	0	Mbabane Highlanders
	3MF	Sandile Gamedze	(1994-12-03) 3 December 1994 (age 28)	34	6	Young Buffaloes
	3MF	Sifiso Matse	(1993-05-14) 14 May 1993 (age 29)	32	3	Royal Leopards
	3MF	Mzwandile Mabelesa	(1993-04-21) 21 April 1993 (age 29)	23	0	Royal Leopards
	3MF	Khethokuhle Mkhontfo	(1993-03-28) 28 March 1993 (age 29)	12	2	Green Mamba
	3MF	Andy Junior Magagula	(1995-01-12) 12 January 1995 (age 27)	10	0	Royal Leopards
	3MF	Philane Mkhontfo	(1995-04-04) 4 April 1995 (age 27)	8	1	Mbabane Highlanders
	3MF	Leon Manyisa	(1999-06-03) 3 June 1999 (age 23)	4	0	Mbabane Swallows
	4FW	Sabelo Ndzinisa	(1991-07-31) 31 July 1991 (age 31)	53	15	Mbabane Highlanders
	4FW	Fanelo Mamba	(2001-10-29) 29 October 2001 (age 21)	27	5	Harini
	4FW	Bonginkosi Dlamini	(1990-11-20) 20 November 1990 (age 32)	13	2	Sagrada Esperança
	4FW	Justice Figuareido	(1998-07-28) 28 July 1998 (age 24)	12	0	Cape Town All Stars
	4FW	Neliso Dlamini	(2002-12-28) 28 December 2002 (age 19)	5	0	Manzini Wanderers
	4FW	Muzi Tsabedze	(1998-09-23) 23 September 1998 (age 24)	3	0	Manzini Sea Birds

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up for Eswatini in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Mxolisi Manana	(1994-01-31) 31 January 1994 (age 28)	0	0	Green Mamba	v.  Somalia, 27 March 2022
DF	Simphiwe Manana	(1993-07-06) 6 July 1993 (age 29)	0	0	Mbabane Highlanders	v.  Somalia, 27 March 2022
MF	Mpendulo Dlamini	(1993-06-26) 26 June 1993 (age 29)	0	0	Young Buffaloes	v.  Somalia, 27 March 2022
FW	Mthokozisi Gwebu	(1994-06-30) 30 June 1994 (age 28)	0	0	Manzini Sea Birds	v.  Somalia, 27 March 2022

Player records

As of 15 July 2022[6]

Players in bold are still active with Eswatini.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1974
1978
1982	Did not enter									Did not enter
1986
1990
1994	Did not qualify									3	1	1	1	1	5
1998										2	0	0	2	0	3
2002										2	0	0	2	1	8
2006										2	0	1	1	1	4
2010										4	1	1	2	2	8
2014										2	0	0	2	2	8
2018										4	2	1	1	8	3
2022										2	0	1	1	1	2
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	–	0/22	–	–	–	–	–	–		21	4	5	12	16	41

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record										Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1968	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1970 to 1976	Not affiliated to CAF									Not affiliated to CAF
1978	Did not enter									Did not enter
1980
1982
1984	Withdrew									Withdrew
1986	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	1	8
1988	Did not enter									Did not enter
1990	Did not qualify									4	0	3	1	3	5
1992										5	1	2	2	4	9
1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1996	Withdrew									Withdrew
1998	Did not enter									Did not enter
2000	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	3
2002										2	1	0	1	3	5
2004										6	2	2	2	8	12
2006										2	0	1	1	1	4
2008										6	0	3	3	0	7
2010										4	1	1	2	2	8
2012										6	0	0	6	2	14
2013	Withdrew									Withdrew
2015	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	1	2
2017										6	2	2	2	6	9
2019										6	0	1	5	2	14
2021										4	0	1	3	1	9
2023	To be determined									To be determined
2025
Total	–	0/23	–	–	–	–	–	–	57	7	18	32	36	109

COSAFA Cup

COSAFA Cup record
Year	Rank	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1997	First round	1	0	0	1	0	1
1998	Quarterfinal	1	0	0	1	0	1
1999	Semifinal	3	1	2	0	5	3
2000	Quarterfinal	1	0	0	1	0	2
2001	Quarterfinal	2	0	1	1	1	2
2002	Semifinal	3	2	0	1	5	5
2003	Semifinal	2	1	0	1	2	2
2004	Quarterfinal	1	0	0	1	0	5
2005	First round	1	0	0	1	0	3
2006	First round	2	1	0	1	2	1
2007	First round	2	1	1	0	1	0
2008	First round	3	1	2	0	3	2
2009	First round	3	2	0	1	5	2
2013	First round	3	0	1	2	0	4
2015	First round	3	2	1	0	4	1
2016	Third place	6	3	2	1	9	7
2017	Quarterfinal	2	0	0	2	1	3
2018	Quarterfinal	2	0	0	2	0	3
2019	First round	2	0	2	0	4	4
2020	Cancelled
2021	Third place[2]	6	2	3	1	8	6
Total	0/20	49	16	15	18	50	57

References

External links

• Official website

На других языках

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- [en] Eswatini national football team

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[ru] Сборная Эсватини по футболу

Сборная Эсватини представляет Эсватини на международных футбольных турнирах и в товарищеских матчах. Управляющая организация — Национальная футбольная ассоциация Эсватини. Эсватини никогда не участвовал в финальных стадиях чемпионата мира и кубка Африки.

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