The national coach, Chiquinho Conde, shared his impressions of the draw and his expectations for the Mambas after the draw made a few days ago by African soccer's governing body.

Chiquinho Conde recognizes the strength of Mali, considered the strongest team in the group. "Mali is one of the strongest teams in our group. They have extremely experienced players, many of whom play for top European teams, and they have a solid record in African competitions. They are undoubtedly contenders for first place," said the coach.

Regarding Guinea-Bissau, Conde highlighted the rivalry and the challenge that this team represents. "We recently had a bitter experience in one of the CAN qualifiers against Guinea-Bissau. With the recent change of coach, they've also changed their matrix of play. They have very physically strong players, most of whom play in Europe. Although they didn't perform well in the last CAN, they're a team that deserves our attention."

As for Eswatini, theoretically the most accessible team in the group, Conde warns against underestimating them. "We have to think only and exclusively of our potential. We've performed well over the last three years and we've made an above-average CAN. It's a mistake to think that playing against lower caliber teams like Eswatini will be easy. We need to do our homework and prepare properly."

The coach emphasized the importance of working together and focusing. "We all need to row together towards the same goal. We're going to think game by game, starting with the first match in September against Mali. Working hard and creating synergies is crucial if we are to perform well. Our motto is clear: if you can't win, you can't lose."

Chiquinho Conde also stressed the need to respect all opponents and remain humble. "We can't think we're in an easy group just because there are no teams like Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia or Algeria. It's a difficult group like any other. We're the ones who have to do our job to make the group accessible and achieve our goals, which include keeping us in the big African competitions."

Finally, the coach left a message of unity and focus for the team and the fans. "It's essential that we all row together, calmly, to achieve the main objective: qualification for CAN." (Text FMF)