Mozambique head coach Chiquinho Conde is on an ambitious mission of re-writing the history books of Mozambiquan football as he prepares his side to face Madagascar in a crunch quarter-final match of the ongoing 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Saturday evening.The Mambas had to dig deep to reach their very first quarter-final spot in a senior CAF competition after finishing second in a tough Group A consisting of tournament hosts Algeria, former champions Libya as well as Ethiopia.Two more matches to come in the #TotalEnergiesCHAN2022 quarter-finals! 🔜Who will join Algeria and Senegal in the semi-finals? pic.twitter.com/ASwF9GYhWN— MARHABA (@CAF_Online) January 28, 2023 “This is our second CHAN tournament. Our first was in 2014 in South Africa where we finished with zero points. We are here in Algeria now and have made history by making it into the quarter-finals with four points. The task is not complete yet because we are re-writing the history books of Mozambiquan football and want to continue doing well,” said the outspoken Conde.The Mozambiquan mentor added that it would not be easy against their Southern African neighbours, whom he deems as the favourites for the tie.“It is an important match for us to win but it will not be easy. They are favourites because they have a much better scoring record than us and are quite offensive. We have been working hard on different variations to respond to the game so we will come prepared and do our best to make the people of Mozambique proud,” said Conde.🇩🇿 and 🇸🇳 ➡️ Semi-finals ✅ Friday’s action wrapped up 🔢#TotalEnergiesCHAN2022 pic.twitter.com/hX8sFrX6c5— MARHABA (@CAF_Online) January 27, 2023 On the other hand, Madagascar coach Romuald Rakotondrabe says their impressive run in the group stage is now behind them, as they prepare to face Mozambique.Making their debut in the tourney, Madagascar came into the tournament quietly carrying the underdog’s tag but ran rampant over their opponents with a 2-1 win over Ghana before crushing Sudan to a 3-1 defeat to emphatically book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition.##NAJAVA_MECA_6978723##Ahead of the clash, Rakotondrabe cautioned against going into the match with the confidence of doing well in the group stages, saying that this is an entirely different match which requires a different approach.“We are glad to have reached this stage of the competition but we are not getting ahead of ourselves as there is still a lot of football to be played. The success of the group stages is behind us now. We are not thinking about that anymore because playing the quarter-finals requires a totally different mentality which we need to adjust to,” said Rakotondrabe.The match kicks off at 1900EAT.Log leading Tusker confront revitalized Kenya Police in Round 13 highlight fixtureNiger vs GhanaNiger coach Harouna Doula is eyeing a new chapter for his side as the Menas continue their title charge in Algeria.Doula’s side finished top of Group E following a convincing 1-0 victory against pre-tournament title favourites Cameroon, but the Nigerien coach has now turned his focus towards the business end of the tournament where he believes his team have made a good case for themselves so far.Sydney 7s: Shujaa book Spain in 9th place QF after gritty win over UruguayThe Menas are one of just three teams at the continental competition that are yet to concede a goal and have no plans of doing so against the Black Galaxies of Ghana on Saturday when the two sides face-off in the last quarter-final.“Perhaps, it is because I was a defender. We will try to keep the spirit of our team and we will do our best to reach new levels and to excel in our next game. We want to raise the bar even higher. It took us 10 years to come back. We need to raise the bar higher based on what we achieved,” he said.Semi-final bound 👏🇸🇳 Senegal advance to the final 4️⃣ for the first time since 2009 🦁 #TotalEnergiesCHAN2022 | @Fsfofficielle pic.twitter.com/J1k1955ur5— MARHABA (@CAF_Online) January 27, 2023 Niger are competing at the CHAN for the fourth time reaching the quarterfinals in their debut appearance in 2011 but failed to make it past the group stages in 2016 in Rwanda and 2021 in Cameroon but now Doula wants to return to the glory days.Ghana coach Walker Annor has revealed that his side has what it takes to emerge winners against Niger.The Black Galaxies trainer is confident despite the absence of posterboy Daniel Afriyie Barnieh who was red-carded in their last game which makes him unavailable for the clash in the Algerian city of Oran.🇩🇿 ➡️ FINAL 4️⃣The hosts are the first #TotalEnergiesCHAN2022 semifinalists 🔥@LesVerts pic.twitter.com/qnQy0OYXDJ— MARHABA (@CAF_Online) January 27, 2023 “Every coach needs his top man. Barnieh is out of the game tomorrow. It is a blow but all the same if he is not there, I have the players to do the job,” Walker said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.”They will not be like him, but I have trust in every player that I have here. Perhaps, it is good that he is not there so that we also see what the others can offer. Whoever replaces him should do his best so that we do not feel his absence.The match kicks off at 2200EAT.
