Eswatini v Eritrea: Ntibane focusing on performance, not result

Eswatini interim national team coach Sifiso Ntibane has sent a message to his players on the area of focus in Tuesday’s home rematch with Eritrea in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round.

The game will kick-off at 16:00hrs Southern Africa Time.

Sihlangu will step onto Somhlolo National Stadium pitch while trailing 2-0 from the first leg played last week in Morocco.

Pictorial action of the final preparations for the national team ahead of the TotalEnergies AFCON Preliminary Round Match against Eritrea to be played on Tuesday (tomorrow) at the Somhlolo National Stadium. Kick-off is at 1600hrs.#Emlembe pic.twitter.com/y2HS9rAWeg

— EFA (@eswatinifa) March 30, 2026

Eritrea’s Red Sea Camels hosted the first leg match at Stade d’Honneur de Meknes in the North African country due to a lack of a CAF-certified venue on home soil. The trip to Morocco proved disastrous for Sihlangu, but they remain optimistic of turning around their fortunes.

Ntibane’s message to Eswatini players ahead of rematch

Ahead of the second leg, Ntibane told the media on Monday that it is important for his players to focus on playing well in the AFCON preliminary round second leg match.

The interim coach said thinking too much on the fact that Sihlangu are 2-0 down might affect the players’ performance.

“If we can put ourselves under pressure, we must keep the balance. It is very much important not to think about the result but the performance. The performance will give us the result.

That is what we have been talking to the players that they must be free,” explained the caretaker coach.

Why Eswatini’s away loss to Eritrea came as surprise

Eswatini’s away defeat came as a surprise considering that Eritrea went into the first leg after 18 years of isolation from the AFCON qualifiers while also not being ranked.

Ntibane’s men now face a mountain to climb at home. They need to win by three unanswered goals to make it to the group stage of the AFCON qualifying matches.

The aggregate winner over the two legs will advance to the group stage, to comprise 12 groups of four teams each from September.