They will face Gabon this evening in the first leg of the WAFCON first-round qualifiers at Stade de Franceville. Speaking to Mmegi Sport from Franceville, the head coach of the Mares, Mohambi Saulos, refrained from divulging many details but shared that the Mares faced difficulties upon their arrival in the Central African state.
He stated that upon their arrival at the airport on Tuesday, they discovered that the match venue had been relocated from the capital city, Libreville, to Franceville, which was over 500 kilometres away.
"Our trip has not been an excellent one. We found that there was no organised transport to pick us up at the airport. We were also surprised that the game was moved from Libreville, so we had to make new arrangements. We were accommodated at an army camp and waited there for almost half a day as we waited to move to Franceville," he said. Saulos, who is new to the Mares' technical setup following significant changes that saw the former head coach, Gaolethoo Nkutlwisang, demoted to an assistant coach role, expressed optimism ahead of his debut.
He faces the daunting task of leading the team back to the WAFCON finals. Just a week into his new role, Saulos' primary objective is to ensure the Mares smoothly secure their spot in the continental showpiece, following the team's debut last year. He told this publication that the task is achievable as he looks to get off to a good start this weekend. "The problem I have is that I found that is already there and I did not have enough time with them. But looking at the competition, I think we can achieve the goal of playing in the WAFCON finals.
It is about how we start in the first rounds and I believe with the squad we have, we will progress from this stage and take it from there," he stated. Saulos acknowledged the attacking prowess of the opposition but noted that they were not without weaknesses. “They have players playing abroad; they are quite a good side, and we did video analysis on some of their games.
They are very predictable; most of their build-up is on the right and they are vulnerable on the left. They have an influential playmaker and I think we need to put someone here for the whole match.
They can be contained, they move with the ball, they move as a block and they are flat and that might leave spaces in the back,” he said. The Mares travelled with seven players nursing minor injuries, and Saulos confirmed that the medical team had cleared them for the match. Botswana will face Gabon for the first time in a game scheduled for 4:30pm (local time) at Stade de Franceville. The return leg is scheduled for Tuesday at the Lobatse Sports Complex.
