Zebras begin rebuilding exercise
Chakalisa Dube | Friday June 16, 2023 12:00
The Group J match is a dead rubber after the Zebras crashed out of contention and the tie presents Mpote with an opportunity to kick-off the rebuild. Equatorial Guinea and Tunisia are the two teams that have qualified from Group J. Libya and Botswana are third and fourth respectively. The current generation of Zebras players has missed qualification for the AFCON in the last decade.
The consensus among Batswana is that Mpote needs new blood in his team. This to some extent explains why the coach has left out several players who have previously formed the core of his team. Some of these players are Moshe Gaolaolwe, Simisani Mathumo, and Segolame Boy who ply their trade at Township Rollers. The other notable absentee in the squad is Gaborone United (GU) goalkeeper, Goitseone Phoko.
Mpote has opted for younger players among them Eric Ookame of Eleven Angels, Kabelo Maphakela of Rollers and Leruo Ratala from GU. This week, he admitted that the reason he omitted the majority of the players who have always made the core of his team is because they are ageing. “We are already out of contention concerning qualifying for the 2023 AFCON.
That is why I called several young players into the squad. The focus is to build for the 2025 AFCON qualifiers as well as the 2026 World Cup qualifiers,” he said. “It is important to give young players exposure to ready them for the next qualifiers. The door is not closed for the players I have dropped. They are still part of the set-up. It is important to blend experienced players and the youngsters,” added the former Orapa United coach.
Mpote said they will treat the weekend encounter with a higher degree of seriousness. “We know that we do not stand a chance of earning qualification, but our aim remains to win the match. If we win the match, it will be a massive confidence booster for the new boys,” he noted. In the absence of his trusted regulars, Mpote will certainly rely on Jwaneng Galaxy forward, Thabang Sesinyi.
The latter recently won the league and the golden boot with Galaxy after scoring 23 goals in the just-ended season. He also won the golden boot last season with 24 goals. The coach gave clarity on the absence of Mothusi Cooper, Mpho Kgaswane and Omaatla Kebatho who did not honour their respective national team call-ups. “The three players are nursing injuries.
They asked to be excused and I acceded to their request,” he said. There have been widespread reports that Cooper did not honour the call-up because he is on the verge of completing a move to Pretoria Callies in the South African First Division League. Libya remains a closed book to many but they will certainly look to end their campaign on a high note.
The three points they earned in the qualifiers came from their win against the Zebras in the first leg 12 months back. Tunisia, who play Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, lead the group with 10 points while their opponents are second with nine points. Libya sit third having accumulated three points while the Zebras are bottom of the group with a point. All teams have played four matches.