Botswana face Tunisia in AFCON 2027 qualifying
Botswana and Tunisia meet on Monday in matchday two of Group H qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, with Tunisia looking to rebound from a disappointing World Cup campaign.
The match
Botswana and Tunisia meet on Monday for matchday two of Group H in qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). According to Football365, kick-off is at 9 p.m., with the match broadcast live on beIN Sports and its beIN Connect streaming platform. Sources disagree on where the match is being played: Football365 and Télérama both state that Tunisia is travelling to Botswana for the fixture, while African Manager reports that the pre-match press conference was held in Radès, Tunisia, at the Hammadi Agrebi stadium — a discrepancy in the reporting about the actual host venue.
The 2027 AFCON finals will be held from 19 June to 18 July 2027, jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Tunisia seeking redemption
Tunisia enters this qualifying campaign still shadowed by its disappointing last World Cup, which ended after a string of heavy defeats and a mid-tournament coaching change: Sabri Lamouchi was dismissed and Hervé Renard was brought in as an emergency replacement. The team is now led by new coach Mouïne Chaabani, who, as Football365 notes, still has plenty of work to do to restore Tunisian football's standing. Tunisia opened its qualifying campaign with a draw against Uganda, meaning anything less than a win over Botswana on Monday would be seen as a setback. Tunisia's defensive anchor is Omar Rekik, who, per Télérama, recently transferred to Bulgaria's Ludogorets.
Botswana's ambitions
Botswana's interim head coach, Thaloba Nthaga, said before the match that Tunisia would be under extra pressure following its draw with Uganda, and that his side hopes to exploit that. Botswana drew with Libya in its opening match on Thursday; the coach described the overall performance as good, though lapses late in the game cost his team two points. Nthaga acknowledged the away trip would be difficult but expressed confidence that a bold approach could make life hard for Tunisia. He believes the group's qualification race will mainly be fought between Botswana, Libya and host nation Uganda, and that eight points could be enough to qualify. After facing Tunisia, Botswana will travel to Uganda before closing out the group stage with three consecutive home matches.
