BRIEF HISTORY

The Mozambique National team played their first international match in 1977 losing 2-1 to Tanzania. The Southern African country are nicknamed Os Mambas (the Mambas). The Portuguese speaking country is also a member of COSAFA.

NUMBERS FROM THE PAST

Ever since the country started playing professional football they have played a sum of 284 matches, winning 89, drawing 73 and losing 122. The Os Mambas have scored 303 goals and conceded 363 goals. The team recorded their biggest loss away against Zimbabwe losing 6-0 in April 1980. That same year the team recorded their biggest win in August 1980 where they trashed Lesotho 6-1 at their home grounds.

AFCON HISTORY
 
Mozambique played their first African Cup of Nations in 1986, but where knocked out in Group stages. They returned a decade later in 1996 and yet again exited in the first round. The last time the team appeared in the AFCON was in 2010, where they again took the usual exit door in the Group stages having drawn with Benin, losing eventually to both Egypt and Nigeria.           

WORLD RANKINGS
 
The Mambas are currently ranked 24th in Africa and 100th in the world lying ahead of Togo and Liberia. Their highest ranking was in 1997 were they were ranked 66th with their lowest ranking coming in 2000 after being ranked 147th.

WORLD CUP HISTORY

The Southern African country has never represented Africa in the World Cup before. They would not represent Africa in Russia 2018 after being bundled out in the preliminaries to Gabon.

DATES WITH BLACK STARS

The Mambas have met the Black stars three times with the first meeting being an AFCON match in 1996. Ghana defeated the Mambas 2-0. The two later met again in an international friendly in 1998, with the match ending goalless. Five days later the two sides battled it out in another friendly match and this time the Stars emerged victorious by 1-0.

ABOUT NEW COACH ABEL XAVIER

New coach Abel Xavier was born in Mozambique, but he later moved to Portugal as a child where he represented the Portuguese national team, he eventually had stints with clubs such as Benfica, PSV, Everton Liverpool, AS Roma and LA Galaxy where he retired in 2008 playing as a defender.  Xavier begun his coaching career in 2013 with Ohanense in Portugal, he later managed clubs like Franense and C.D Aves before landing the grand deal with the Country of his birth on 26 January 2016.

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