Morena Ramoreboli leads Botswana to first AFCON in 12 years

The Zebras played a hard-fought draw as they held to a one-all draw against record seven-time African champions Egypt in Cairo last night to finish second in Group C with eight points.

Ramoreboli was roped in as an interim head coach for the final two matches against Mauritania and Egypt and managed to secure the much-needed two points from these games.

He praised the players for their gallant effort in this game.

"Glory to the man above. Firstly, I need to take this opportunity, they usually say coaches make players and players make coaches. I think if you have a group of individuals who are willing to work and die for one mission then everything is possible,” Ramoreboli said.

“I think they did so well. Also, the association, gave us support. We really appreciate the support."

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Ramoreboli replaced Didier Gomes Da Rosa, who resigned shortly after back-to-back wins against Cape Verde in October and left the team with six points, with only two games to go.

This is only Botswana’s second qualification to the AFCON, and Ramoreboli says it's very special.

"For the country it's very important to say we thank them for their prayers and the technical team and everybody involved. It was not an easy journey and we came here, we knew that no one gave us a chance honestly, we were playing against one of the top teams in the continent but I think we did very well," he added.

The former Bafana Bafana coach in the COSAFA Cup is highly respected in Botswana as the head coach of Jwaneng Galaxy, a team he’s taken to the CAF Champions League group stages twice.

Tactically, Ramoreboli, his technical team, and the players had to adjust their game in the second half, but they defended with discipline and eventually got the desired result.

"To make sure that we secure a point which was not easy honestly but I think it was purely out of hard work that we managed to get the maximum points and I think one thing that also needs to give our players credit for, I think they adjusted so well to the tactics and the demands of the game and they were willing to go an extra mile. That is why this generation has qualified for the 2025 AFCON."