16 Jan 2020

Botswana Under 20 women national football team is scheduled to lock horns with Namibia in a bid to qualify for the 2020 FIFA Under 20 female World Cup.

The team left for Windhoek yesterday ahead of the Sunday’s first leg of the preliminary round.

Coach Jacqueline Gaboinelwe has assembled a solid team that would be expected to give opponents a run for their money.

Gaboinelwe told a press briefing in Gaborone on Wednesday that her players were ready for the game.

She said preparations were going on well and she was happy that she was travelling with the same team that made it to the COSAFA semi-finals in South Africa last year.

She said some of the players also took part in Botswana Games in December, adding that participation in the games helped them to be in good shape.

Gaboinelwe said the players had been in camp from December 27, adding that during that time they horned their skills in various aspects such as conditioning as well as  physical, psychological and technical awareness.

“The players responded very well because we had time to study and analyse our opponent’s videos. We have played against Namibia senior team in COSAFA, so we have an idea of what to expect,” she said.

The coach said Namibia was a good side with tactical discipline and also had good players.

Gaboinelwe said in 2018, they played against Namibia during AUSC Region 5 under 20 Youth Games and won 1-0.

The team captain, Esalenna Galekhutle, said morale in camp was high and motivated by Under 17’s recent win against Zimbabwe.

She was optimistic that they would do well in Namibia, adding that the most important thing would be to utilise chances during the game.

“We want to make history by being the first team to qualify for this tournament and it is possible looking at our work rate. We are doing well in training,” she said

She said their target was to finish off the game in Namibia so that they would not be under pressure in the second leg slated for Botswana on January. ENDS