05 Aug 2014

 The Zebras have managed to make it to the group stages of qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations finals in Morocco, but things will get tougher as their opponents in Group G will pose a serious challenge.

Peter Butler’s men sealed their place l when they drew with Guinea Bissau 1-1 in the second leg and advanced on a 3-1 aggregate.

They now face a mammoth task of overcoming Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal in Group G.

The Zebras have faced some of the opponents before in the same stage but it will be different this time around because all the teams have changed their squads.

All teams in this group have played in the AFCON finals before but what makes it even more interesting for the Zebras is that they are the only team from Southern Africa in the group.

In terms of previous results Botswana holds an upper hand over Tunisia in recent years.

The Zebras, coached by Stanley Tshosane then, beat Tunisia home and away in the 2012 AFCON qualifiers. The Zebras emerged as their group winners and qualified for the finals for the first time, while Tunisia qualified as group runners-up.

However, despite the bad recent record against the Zebras, the Carthage Eagles are the best among the two in terms of achievements in the international football.

They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups. The last time they won the AFCON finals was 10 years ago when they hosted the tournament. Their last match was a one all draw against Belgium in June.

Egypt, another opponent for the Zebras in the group, needs no introduction - they won the AFCON tournament three times in a row in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

They have missed the last two editions and will be aiming to bounce back. They have won the AFCON seven times, making them the most successful African team at continental level.

Botswana’s record against Egypt is however not that bad, the last time they met was last year in a friendly match where the Zebras managed to hold the Pharaohs to 1-1 draw. Egypt however did beat Botswana 1-0 in the 2008 AFCON qualification.

But the Zebras pulled off a good show against Egypt earning a 0-0 draw in Gaborone in 2006. Senegal is the last opponent in Botswana’s way to the AFCON finals. They have a rich history having reached the quarter finals of the world cup in 2002 and the AFCON final the same year.

They boast of players who play in Europe like Papis Cisse and Demba Ba.Botswana and Senegal have not met in a competitive match before. The Zebras is yet to lose in the current qualifiers.

Both the Zebras and Lions of Teranga’s last appearance in the AFCON finals was two years ago in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and they will battle it out to return after missing out in the last edition held in South Africa last year.

The Zebras’ first group match will be against Tunisia in the weekend of September 5-6, while they will host Senegal in Botswana on September 10.

From there, the Zebras will host Egypt on the weekend of October 10-11 to complete their first round matches. In the second round Botswana will travel to Egypt on 15 October.

After that, they will face Tunisia on the weekend of November 14-15, and visit Senegal on November 19. Ends