Botswana out to revive 2026 WC hopes with Somalia win
03/24/2025 06:00 AM
Botswana will be keen to revive their ambitions of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals when they host Somalia on Tuesday.
Kick-off is at 3:00 pm CAT.
The Group G encounter will take place at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Botswana’s second-biggest city, Francistown.
The Zebras are winless in their last three matches across all competitions, after succumbing to a 3-1 defeat to Algeria at home in a World Cup qualifier on 21 March and prior to that, they had registered two successive draws.
Botswana slipped down to the fourth spot in the Group G standings and they are one point behind third-placed Guinea. The Southern African side will be desperate to secure a win over Somalia in order to revive their ambitions of qualifying for the global tournament.
"Every player played today [against Algeria]. It is just unfortunate that in football, you will always be judged on results but if you look at the performance, we did well," Botswana head coach Morena Ramoreboli told reporters.
"I know that we are not going to be proud but if you are honest enough with the team, you will give them credit that they played well. It is just unfortunate that if you play well and you don’t get results, you don’t look at those things positively."
Meanwhile, Somalia are winless in their last 16 matches across all competitions, having impressively drawn 0-0 with Guinea away in a World Cup qualifier on 21 March and prior to that, they recorded two consecutive defeats.
The Ocean Stars remain sixth in the Group G standings and having earned their first-ever point in World Cup qualifying against Guinea, Somalia will now be hoping to secure their maiden victory in this stage of the qualifiers when they face the Zebras.
“We have two matches against Guinea and Botswana,” Somalia head coach Yusuf Ali Nur said in a press conference.
“We’re going to try to make changes and adjustments that will allow us to improve the team and win the next matches. It’s true that Guinea has top players, but we don’t have an individual plan because we’re playing against a team, not an individual.”
Botswana and Somalia have met once across all competitions.
Their only meeting ended in a 3-1 win in favour of the Zebras in the 2026 World Cup qualifier played in Maputo, Mozambique in June 2024.
