The Zebras will take on the ‘Bareas’ in the first leg of the second round of CHAN qualifiers tomorrow afternoon at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium.
This is the last round of the CHAN qualifiers and the Zebras are just 180 minutes of regular play to their maiden CHAN finals qualification.
Mpote has once again stuck with young players, the majority of them Under-23s, ahead arguably of his most important match in the Zebras’ hot seat. The current squad has seen the addition of Rollers’ defender, Mosha Gaolaolwe from the team that competed in the first round of CHAN qualifiers and the COSAFA Cup.
“We have played a lot of games with these boys. We took them to the COSAFA and they played the first round of the CHAN qualifiers. I am trying to give them as many games as possible and give them a taste of senior international football. They have done well thus far. They believe in me and I believe in them.
We did not have friendly games to prepare for this game but we played COSAFA and CHAN (qualifiers) with this team and they did very well. I believe they now know what is needed from them by Batswana to put on the jersey and play at this level,” Mpote told Mmegi Sport this week.
The Zebras eliminated Eswatini in the first leg on an away goal rule after a goalless draw at home and drew 2-2 away in South Africa. That was enough for the Zebras to reach the final round of qualifiers. However, Mpote feels Madagascar is an upgrade from Eswatini and will pose a much bigger threat. “They are higher than us in the (FIFA) rankings and that says they are better than us in some way. They finished in the top six at the COSAFA Cup while we were knocked out in the group stages.
Their football is growing and they will be a threat on Saturday. But we will fight, we cannot sit back and say Madagascar are better, they have grown. No, we will go there and fight,” Mpote said. He also said the Zebras are looking to maximise home-ground advantage and take a lead to the return match. The Zebras will be missing defender, Thato Kebue who is out due to suspension while forward Thero Setsile and defender, Thobo Seeleko are subject to a late fitness test after suffering injuries in training. The team left for Francistown on Thursday after a week-long training camp at the Lekidi Football Centre. Kick-off for the game is at 3pm.
