Tumisang Orebonye’s solitary strike in the first half was the difference between the two sides in Cape Verde as the Zebras registered their first win in the group from three matches. A victory for the Zebras will take them closer to their second AFCON finals qualification. With Egypt almost assured of finishing as group leaders, the battle now remains for the second and the remaining spot, which is a requirement to reach the AFCON finals. The Zebras, together with Cape Verde and Mauritania all have three points each with the former now sitting at position three in the group. Cape Verde currently sits in the second spot while Mauritania are fourth with the goal difference separating the three sides. A comfortable victory for the home side this evening will ensure that they cement the second spot before the end of the International break.
The road to AFCON finals looked far-fetched ahead of last week’s encounter after the Zebras lost their first two matches in the group. However, a victory away from home, also boosted by Egypt’s win over Mauritania turned the group around and revived the Zebras’ hopes too. While the local fans will be hoping that the Zebras use home ground advantage and register another victory this evening, they will also pin their hopes on Egypt beating Mauritania again to make the road more clearer for Didier Da Rosa Gomes’ men. Upon landing in Francistown from Cape Verde, the Zebras head coach jokingly said they are happy that this time around they arrived back home on time to prepare for the return leg. The team was left stranded in Mauritania last month due to logistical challenges and forced to play Egypt without having enough time to recover. “We are also happy that we delivered a good performance in Cape Verde.
This is a very important win as you know Cape Verde are ranked number 65 in the world so this was a very big performance. But we need to concentrate more because we suffered for that win. We need to be more powerful and efficient. This is a deciding match for both teams and we have to be ready,” the Zebras head coach said ahead of the return match. By yesterday afternoon, the Cape Verde team was making efforts to depart Gaborone to Francistown on time to be able to train at the match venue as per requirements. The match is expected to kick-off at 6pm.
