Mozambique captain, Domingues, has vowed that the Mambas will not be daunted by Nigeria’s star-studded Super Eagles when the two sides meet in the AFCON 2025 Round of 16 on Monday in Fes.
The Mambas have made history by reaching the knockout stage of the tournament for the first time, securing their spot as one of the best third-placed teams.
During the group stage, Mozambique suffered defeats to Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire but bounced back with a win over Gabon.
Their next challenge comes against the Super Eagles, who topped Group C with nine points, following victories over Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda.
This will be the second AFCON encounter between the two nations, the first being in 2010 when Nigeria secured a 9-3 victory.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Monday, Domingues said, “The Nigerian team is very powerful but we will not be intimidated by that, we want to go there and compete because football is 90 minutes, anything can happen.
“We know the challenges we are going to have, we know we managed to reach another stage and we are in a stage where we are still celebrating our qualification. But we know the importance of this game and which type of game it is, and this gives us more strength because we continue dreaming knowing that this is called a season of breakthrough.”
He added: “So we have to do all we can to continue dreaming so we will give it our all.”
Elsewhere in the Round of 16, Senegal came from behind to defeat Sudan 3-1, while Mali overcame Tunisia 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw following extra time.
Despite playing most of the game with 10 men, Mali progressed to the quarterfinals, where they will face 2021 AFCON champions Senegal.
