Botswana coach Morena Ramoreboli - Photo Courtesy CAFOnline.
Botswana interim coach Morena Ramoreboli hailed his ‘hard working’ players for sealing an historic qualification to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
The Zebras secured their second ever appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations after holding Egypt to a 1-1 at the 30 June Air Defence Stadium on Tuesday. Egypt's unbeaten campaign in Group C of the qualifiers ended with the draw against the Zebras that helped their opponents to advance to play in Africa's flag football competition.
Despite the stalemate, Botswana celebrated as they secured second place in the group to join Egypt in qualifying for the AFCON finals. Botswana secured their first AFCON qualification since 2012, marking a significant milestone for the Zebras.
“They usually say coaches make players and players make coaches and I think when you have a group of individual players, who are willing to work hard and die for our nation, then everything is possible,” Ramoreboli told reporters after the game.
“i think the players did so well to get the ticket and also the Botswana Association gave us a strong support and we really appreciate the support, we thank our fans and everybody involved because it was not an easy game.
“We came here and we knew no one gave us a chance [to qualify], we were playing against one of the top teams in the continent but I think we did very well, we had to adjust our tactics in the second half to make sure that we secure a point, which was not easy honestly but I think it was purely out of hard work that we managed to get the draw.
“The players adjusted so well to take tactics, I must give them credit for that, and also the demands of the game and they were willing to go an extra mile and that is why the qualified for the 2025 AFCON.”
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