It will be a tricky but winnable task as the Zebras face their opponents away at the Estadio de Malabo in the first of the back-to-back ties between the two. Before leaving for Malabo, Mpote revealed that his target was at least four points against the National Thunder as Equatorial Guinea is known.
Mpote’s side sits at the bottom of Group J but crucially, just three behind group leaders, Tunisia while Libya and Equatorial Guinea are level on three points. A positive result against National Thunder will put the Zebras back in contention for a spot in the finals. At the peak of Mpote’s worries were the climate conditions in Equatorial Guinea but he told Mmegi Sport this week that the team has settled well.
“To come here earlier was to acclimatise, so if we are talking about acclimatising already we have done that. The country here is humid and at home it’s dry, so we came here earlier to prepare for the heat but it rained yesterday,” Mpote said on Wednesday.
The Zebras dusted their boots for the first time since last November as they faced Moroccan top-flight side, Olympique de Khouridga in a practice. They played to a 1-1 draw and Mpote has said the workout will come in handy this evening. He reported no injuries in the squad as he said his side is responding well to the technical demands of the fixture.
“The boys are doing well (in training), the Morocco training (camp) also helped us a lot. The Morocco camp was solely for us to try to get a game before we play this game. We could not play the qualifier fixture without having played a practice match. This was just to see the combinations and that has helped us a lot. We are working on the technical application to try and counter Equatorial Guinea,” he said.
Mpote is in a desperate search of goals as his team has found the back of the net on just three occasions in the last five games. The team has lined up a 49-goal frontline and National Thunder should be worried. However, the Zebras face a side that enjoys possession and their attack centres on short passes and moving the ball into channels. The Zebras would need to be disciplined and patient in their approach. The game kicks off at 7pm.
