A bizarre campaign

Life was still normal when the first round of the Group H ties were played on November 15, 2019. Botswana’s Zebras travelled to Harare to face Zimbabwe’s Warriors without masks, there were no temperature checks. It was the usual physical contest and fans bellowed from the terraces. Elsewhere, Zambia and Algeria were slugging it, with all four teams eyeing the two berths on offer to get to the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Day Two of the qualifiers saw reigning African champions, Algeria arrive in Gaborone, with life going on as usual.