On an unseasonably chilly September night in Ghetto, exhausted, severely jet-lagged and facing one of the best teams on the continent, Botswana fell to a heavy 4-0 defeat against Egypt.
Tuesday’s scoreline told only half the story.
Let down by the Botswana Football Association (BFA) off the pitch, following a shambolic build-up which climaxed in a mad scramble across Africa, the Zebras battled bravely in Francistown, rising to the occasion as best they could, showing spirit and fight throughout.
In the end, they fell well short, undone by a superior, star-studded side led by the magnificent Mohamed Salah plus their own defensive shortcomings.
However, it was behind-the-scenes where the Zebras were ultimately beaten.
When the dust settles on this loss under the Obed Chilume Stadium lights, the BFA must man up, open up and take accountability.
They must explain exactly what went wrong, why the national team were left stranded in Mauritania for two full days, arriving back home bone tired, just six hours before kick-off in one of the biggest games they will ever play.
The current justification for the delay is that the Zebras’ travel plans were affected by ‘unforeseen complications’; that doesn’t quite cut it!
In the post-match press conference, journalists were strictly told to focus all their questions on the 90 minutes that unfolded on the pitch – the disastrous 64 hours which preceded it were strictly off-limits.
In this era of misinformation, perhaps the powers-that-be believe the truth will never get out? Like ostriches burying their heads in the sand, perhaps the puppeteers that run local football believe if they ignore the problem, it will eventually go away?
Either way, with the BFA due to go for elections in Palapye this Saturday, it’s hard to think of a worse build-up for President Maclean Letshwiti and his team – he should talk to the Zebras, they can relate!
Dreams of an unlikely upset got off to a nightmare start for Botswana, falling behind in the 3rd minute.
Winning his 100th cap for Egypt, Salah’s movement down the right saw him find space on the edge of the box.
Opening his body up like we’ve seen him do so many times for Liverpool, the little wizard curled his shot towards the bottom corner, denied by a sprawling save from Goitseone Phoko.
The rebound fell kindly for the unmarked Mahmoud Trezeguet to bundle in.
It was the start of a surreal night in the second city.
Every time Salah touched the ball, the crowd erupted in excitement, an audible buzz of anticipation surging through the stands.
When he exited the field in the 75th minute, the masses rose as one to roar their appreciation for one of Africa’s greatest ever players; it was spine-tingling stuff.
At that point, the score was 3-0, the game as good as dead.
The Pharaohs’ doubled their lead in the 29th minute, Trezegeut latching on to a looped pass after centre back, Tebogo Kopelang misjudged the flight of the ball.
From the Zebras’ perspective, it was a terrible goal to concede.
Botswana’s defensive frailties were once again laid bare in the 56th minute, when a sweeping Egyptian move ended with a simple tap-in for Salah.
It was the Egyptian king’s 56th goal for his country; it was also one of his easiest, left completely unmarked to stroll into the box and score.
To their credit, the Zebras never gave up, carving out three fabulous opportunities to pull one back in a crazy five-minute spell of dominance.
First, Gape Mohutsiwa missed horrendously with a close range header, failing to hit the target when he really should have scored.
Then, the lively, Kabelo Seakanyang poked narrowly wide when one-on-one with the keeper before Gape Thibedi completed the hat-trick of misses, flashing over from a tight angle.
On another day, all three might have gone in!
The hosts kept pushing and were caught on the counter in the very last minute, some slick Egyptian passing ending in another tap-in, this time second-half substitute, Mostafa Fathi the beneficiary.
It capped a difficult evening in the second city for Coach Didier da Rosa’s men, one that will forever be remembered as the day Salah came to town – and the day the Zebras almost didn’t!
However, amid the gloom it’s not all doom. Mauritania’s loss to Cape Verde in the group’s other game means the Zebras’ AFCON hopes are still alive.
They take on the island nation in a double header next month, knowing six points would put them in a strong position to qualify for Morocco 2025.
With the first encounter set for Cape Verde on 7 October and the return fixture a week later in Francistown, let’s hope the travel arrangements are made well in time – perhaps the BFA should invest in a boat!
REMAINING FIXTURES
6 Oct Cape Verde (a)
14 Oct Cape Verde (h)
10 Nov Mauritania (h)
18 Nov Egypt (a)
HOW THEY SAW IT:
HOSSAM HASSAN
“We saw a lot of videos of the Botswana team so we knew before hand that they have some very good players with speedy forwards. But we stuck to our game plan well; I’m very pleased with my players.
African football is not easy anymore, there are no big differences between any of the nations and we have to be fully focused always.”
DIDIER DA ROSA
“For sure the trip this morning put us in trouble but it’s not a reason to explain the defeat. We didn’t enter into the match very well, we were better in the second half. In my opinion, we conceded stupid goals and didn’t control the passing line to Salah.
We tried to correct that in the second half and definitely improved. But if we want to challenge this kind of team, Egypt are very strong – we have to correct the mistakes. We created good chances in the second half but need to be more clinical. The spirit in camp is still high.”
MATCH STATS
BOTSWANA (0) 0 EGYPT (2) 4
(Trezegeut 3, 29, Salah 56, Fathi 90)
42% POSSESSION 58%
12 SHOTS 11
3 ON TARGET 8
4 CORNERS 3
1 OFFSIDE 1
11 FOULS 7
2 0 CARDS 0 0
