In an interview with Mmegi Sport, Selebatso Mabutho said preparations are going well and he will name his final squad next team.
“The final list of the players will be finalised next week, but that will not be a stumbling block because the guys are training very hard. Of the 22 that are on trial, we only need 12 and everybody wants to be in the team. This has created a competitive atmosphere.” The Durban qualifiers feature hosts South Africa, Mauritius and Botswana. Mabutho said they have played with the two countries before and this could be an advantage because they know their weak and strong areas.
“Most of the players who are in the preliminary list have played with South Africa and Mauritius before, so that can work well for us. Also last year, BDF VI played with some of the players in the South African team in the Zone Six games.”
Long-serving Botswana internationals like Tiro Setlhare and Francis Dingwe are optimistic that the national team will cruise to the next round of the qualifiers. “Obviously the time is short and one is easily tempted to rule us out, but generally the team will do well. We last played Mauritius in 2003 and they outclassed us. But looking at the way they won, we were the better side on the day. The technical team can easily work on that,” Setlhare said.
“Time is not on our side and our coaches might not assess us the way they would have liked, but we will do well. The team that normally gives us headaches is South Africa but they must not take us for granted,” said Dingwe.
The towering Setlhare has been the pillar of strength in the national team with his blocks and spikes while Dingwe has powerful serves. His serves normally confuse opponents making it possible for his teammates to launch attacks with ease.
One player who is worried about the team’s preparedness is Lee Tshipane of BDF VI. The powerful left spiker said games of Africa qualifying magnitude need thorough preparations. He said the team should have been selected a long time ago. He added that if Botswana is to realise the dream of going past the first round, it has to double its efforts.
Meanwhile, Mabutho stressed that even though they might be behind time in selection, they will not be considering the past record of the players but how they perform during the trials.
“At the trials we do physical training, ball work and tactical awareness. This can actually determine whether the player is national team material or not. The players who were in the national team before should not expect to be treated with kid gloves. There are some players who have graduated with great potential from the Under 21 side that went to Kenya last year.”
The first round of the African qualifiers will get under way on April 6 and the overall winner will progress to the second round. The qualifiers are played in three rounds. The only country that has booked a ticket to the second round is Libya after edging out Eritrea and Ghana last month.
