GABORONE, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Botswana women national football team will compete with neighboring Zimbabwe in the first leg match of the final stage of the 2022 Women Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on Friday afternoon in Harare.
Botswana knows well that a win will take them an inch closer to qualifying for their first ever-continental tournament.
Speaking to Xinhua in a video interview from Harare where they arrived on Monday afternoon, head coach Gaolethoo Nkutlwisang said the team is in a good shape physically and mentally for the game and they have acclimatized well in Zimbabwe.
The coach said everyone is motivated for the game knowing that the two-leg matches will mean so much for the game locally.
"We are not under any pressure but we will approach these two games as life-defining games," she said.
Botswana women's football have been on a steady rise in recent years with their best performance being runners-up in the 2020 Confederation of Southern Football Associations (COSAFA) regional tournament when they narrowly lost 2-1 to South Africa. They qualified to the final stage of the 2022 Women AFCON qualifiers after beating Angola 7-1 on aggregate while Zimbabwe beat Eswatini 6-1 on aggregate.
The team's attack has been boosted by the arrival of U.S.-based striker Esalenna Galekhutle who is expected to trouble the home side defense. Experienced defender and captain Bonang Otlhagile will be expected to play a key role in the team's defense against Zimbabwe in the absence of South African-based goalkeeper Sedilame Bosija.
Nkutlwisang said they would like not to concede many goals away as the aggregate score might play a role in determining who qualifies for the final tournament. She said it was important to manage the first leg match well, but would also prefer to score a few vital away goals.
Botswana will return home on Saturday and host Zimbabwe in the return leg match on February 23 in the northern city of Francistown. ■