SA coach Morena Ramoreboli has reflected on his first game at the 2025 AFCON as Botswana’s head coach, admitting that they’re learning the hard way.
Botswana suffered a 3-0 loss to Senegal in their opening Group D match at the Grand Stade de Tanger in Tangier on Tuesday.
That was a rude awakening for Ramoreboli, formerly Jwaneng Galaxy coach, who is making his maiden appearance at the continental showpiece as head coach.
While hopeful his charges will spring a surprise in the remaining two group matches against Benin and DR Congo, Ramoreboli reflected on the challenges they faced at the CAF tournament.
WHAT COACH MORENA RAMOREBOLI SAID
The Zebras will face Benin on Saturday, 27 December, at the Stade Olympique Annexe Complexe Sportif Prince Abdellah. They will wrap up their group-phase campaign against DR Congo on Tuesday, 30 December, at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat.
“While we need to correct mistakes we made against Senegal, let’s be honest, when we were preparing for the game, we knew there would be moments where we would have to play without the ball for the better part of the match,” Ramoreboli said.
“So that simply says that as much as you were prepared and willing to play without the ball, obviously, the ground was heavy, you were going to get tired, sometimes your actions might be delayed because of the pitch, or maybe you might be overloaded and end up conceding.
“And as I said, there are moments where you could see that we are playing against a very mature team, where they wait for you to make a mistake. But unfortunately, you can only correct mistakes after they have happened. And it’s exactly that which has happened. I’m very proud of our boys. Massive lessons were taken from this game [against Senegal], but we learn the hard way.”
As it stands in Group D, Senegal and DR Congo have three points each, while Benin and Botswana have none.
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