Pelembe misses out on World Cup action
Mamelodi Sundowns winger Elias Pelembe has pulled out of Friday’s World Cup qualifier for Mozambique against the Comoros islands but is hoping to get a run out in the return match on Tuesday.
Pelembe, known as Dominguez in his home country, struggled in training this week ahead of the two-legged tie against the Comoros, having battled with an ankle problem for several months now.
It was decided that he would be better served if he missed out on the trio to Moroni for Friday’s first leg and concentrate on recuperating for Tuesday’s return match at Maputo’s Zimpeto Stadium.
Pelembe’s withdrawal follows that of Greek-based midfielder Simao, who is Mozambique’s highest profile foreign-based player.
Simao has given contractual problems with Panathinaikos as the reason for his absence from both qualifiers, which mark the start of Africa’s road to the 2014 finals in Brazil.
New German coach Gert Engels has picked several uncapped players for the tie which Mozambique are expected to win, having beaten the Indian Ocean islanders both home and away in the recent African Nations Cup qualifiers.