19 Nov 2024

The senior national team, the Zebras has qualified for the 2025 AFCON finals to be staged in Morrocco.

The Zebras managed to hold the Pharaohs of Egypt to a one all draw in a nail biting encounter played in Cairo on Tuesday.

Egypt started the game on a high note, forcing the Zebras to defend deeply. However, in the fifth minute, the Zebras won a corner which was well dealt with by the Egyptian defence.

However, Omatla Kebatho opened the scores in the eighth minute from a calculated move between him and Kabelo Seakanyeng to make it 1-0.

The host piled on more pressure in search for an equailiser, but the visitors were always alert.

The Zebras resolve was broken in the 16th minute by Mahmoud Hassan, commonly called 'Trezequet', who managed to beat the Zebras defence and goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko to make it one all.

The Pharaohs continued mounting pressure on the Zebras, and they nearly scored the second goal in the 30th minute, but they were denied by the compact Zebras defence.

A minute after that the Zebras made a good move and Kebatho's long range strike was saved by goalkeeper Mostafa Mohammed by forcing a corner which was not fully utilised.

The game went into recess with the score board reading 1-1, but immediately after the break, coach Morena Ramoreboli made three substitutions introducing Thabang Sesinyi, Tebogo Kopelang and Koketso Majafi, pulling out Kebatho, Seakanyeng and Baruti.

Although the Pharaohs enjoyed ball possession and attacked more, the Zebras managed to keep the hosts at bay until on the 76th minute when Egypt launched a massive attack but Phoko dealt with Ibrahim Mohamed strike before it could cross the line.

The Zebras continued with their defence, knowing that a draw would be enough to take them to Morocco. They continued to frustrate their opponents by denying them space to manuover and the match ended in a stalemate.

Coach Ramoreboli said his was happy with his players performance, adding that their qualification was not a fluke, given that a lot of work was done.

“I have coached at the national team level, but this time around I saw something different. The players had a meeting before the game, and they wanted it more, and therefore, it did not come as a surprise when they qualified,” he said.
ENDS