Africa-Press – Botswana. After 13 long years, Botswana’s Zebras return to the AFCON is armed with lessons from a testing 2025 campaign. It has taken more than a decade, but Botswana is back where the nation once dared to dream.
When the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off in Morocco on 21 December 2025, the Zebras will compete in Group D alongside Benin, DR Congo and Senegal.
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Botswana’s only previous AFCON outing in 2012 ended with three defeats. The team scored twice through veterans Diphetogo Selolwane and Mogakolodi Ngele but conceded nine goals. Thirteen years later, the squad returns with experience and maturity.
This year’s journey has tested Botswana in every possible way. Their 2025 campaign began in Francistown on 21 March with a sobering 3–1 defeat to Algeria in a World Cup qualifier.
CONVICTION
Four days later, the Zebras redeemed themselves with a composed 2–0 victory over Somalia, offering a glimpse of the grit that coach Morena Ramoreboli has been patiently cultivating.
June brought the COSAFA Cup where Botswana showed flashes of attacking flair — a goalless draw with the Comoros followed by a 3–3 encounter against Zambia in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Those performances, though imperfect, carried a clear message: the Zebras are learning to play with conviction.
NARROW MARGINS
But as the year wore on, the team’s progress was measured against tougher odds. September’s back-to-back defeats — 3–1 to Algeria in Tizi Ouzou and 2–0 to Mozambique — underscored how narrow the margins remain at this level.
October added more lessons: a 1–0 loss to Uganda and a spirited 2–2 draw against Guinea, both in World Cup qualifiers.
For Ramoreboli, these games have been more than fixtures — they were experiments.
“We played those matches with the aim of pushing ourselves,” he reflected in an interview.
RAMOREBOLI’S REFINEMENT
“We wanted to see if we have the ability to play a more advanced, aggressive game.”
His tone was one of cautious optimism, even amid defeats. “Much as we lost,” he said, “I am happy that there are a lot of things that we did right. We created chances, we competed, and we showed we can go toe-to-toe with offensive teams.”
SHARPENING THE ATTACK
What worries the coach most is not structure but finishing. The Zebras, he insists, are creating chances but are just not taking them. “When emotions settle and you rewatch the game, you realise we could have scored at least two goals against Uganda,” he admitted.
“We’re creating, and that’s encouraging. But we must work more on our finishing, create situations that allow us to score. We have good goal scorers — it’s about making it click.”
To bridge that gap, Ramoreboli is planning intensive training camps before the tournament.
DARING
In a group that features Africa’s reigning powerhouses, those fine margins will matter.
The Zebras are under no illusion — facing Senegal and DR Congo is a task few would envy — but there’s a growing sense that they are better equipped this time.
They have learned to play under pressure, to create, to fight. And if they can finally marry their discipline with clinical finishing, the story of Morocco 2025 may be very different from Gabon 2012.
For Ramoreboli and his men, it’s not just about surviving the group — it’s about evolving.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
