The national futsal team hosted and defeated their Mauritanian counterparts 3-1, qualifying for the final phase of the African Nations Championship in Morocco this year. With this Sunday’s victory, Mozambique qualified with an aggregate score of 7-4 over the two legs.
A sweet victory for Mozambique this Sunday at the Liga Desportiva de Maputo pavilion, a comeback win, secured their qualification for the African Nations Championship, a tournament that will take place later this year in Morocco.
The national team practically started the match losing, when in the first minute, a lapse in concentration and lack of communication between captain Zira and goalkeeper André allowed Mauritania to open the scoring.
And because the first leg had ended with a one-goal difference, with Mozambique winning 4-3, Mauritania’s goal leveled the tie and left everything open.
But the Mozambican players, spurred on by the packed Liga Desportiva de Maputo pavilion, didn’t want anything left undone and tried to make up for the deficit, just as they had done in the first leg in Morocco.
With 12 minutes played and eight minutes to go until halftime, the magic happened, with a well-executed triangulation by the Mozambicans that left the opposing defenders bewildered, allowing Ricardinho to tap in the equalizer.
The Mozambican team was visibly growing stronger, justifying their lead on the court, but Mauritania remained tight defensively, not allowing any danger to their goal.
But two minutes before the end of the first half came the turnaround, in a play almost identical to the first goal, but this time it was Idelson who appeared unmarked to score, putting the national team ahead.
Halftime arrived and Mozambique had both feet firmly in the final phase of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
In the second half, Nadir Narotam made successive substitutions that created balance in the game, as the narrow lead remained for a long time. Indeed, Mauritania tried to reach the Mozambican goal, but found both goalkeepers in excellent form, saving every shot on goal.
The Mauritanian national team coach was even sent off for arguing with the refereeing team, disagreeing with their performance and even causing a commotion on the court.
With the visitors desperately trying to equalize before attempting to win, the game became rough, with many fouls being committed, requiring intervention from the referees to restore order.
With three minutes remaining, the national team launched a quick counter-attack that forced a defender to handle the ball, awarding Mozambique a penalty.
Gusta sealed the victory with a penalty kick, making the final score 3-1 for Mozambique, bringing the aggregate score to 7-4 and securing qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN).
After missing the last edition of the tournament, Mozambique returns to the final stage of the Futsal Africa Cup of Nations with ambitions to continue making history and reach the podium, which qualifies them for the World Cup.