Botswana coach Alex Malete targets WAFCON quarter-finals

The Mares will gather for their final camp on Sunday, following their participation at the recently concluded Three-Nations series against South Africa and Zambia.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Malete says his team will need to improve when it comes to game management, having failed to secure a win in their matches against Banyana Banyana and the Copper Queens.

"Our target - the minimum results we can accept is finishing in the quarter-final because that is what we can set for ourselves," said Malete.

"We believe that the lessons we have taken from participating in international friendlies should put us in a position to perform better. I want the players to improve on reading the game, and having the correct game management."

Botswana were drawn in Group B, alongside Nigeria, Tunisia and Algeria, and the coach aims to show great character against these tough sides, while monitoring performances in other groups.

“We will need to perform well, especially against Tunisia and Algeria – I think that is where the challenge will be, but we also need to pay attention to other teams and see how they perform in their groups," he added.

"We have travelled on this road before, we know exactly what is expected of us."

Malete believes their final preparation camp will be about reflecting on all their friendlies, including assessing team performance in the recent Three-Nation series.

“As we head back to camp on Sunday, we know that there's still a lot to work on. Before the Three-Nations, we played DR Congo twice and failed to score in both fixtures, despite dominating. 

"We created a lot of chances, coupled with some dominance on the ball, but still failed to score. So we want to work on our finishing. 

"Same thing in the Three-Nations – we managed to score against both teams, but still struggled in defence, so we need to reflect and fix our mistakes," concluded Malete.

READ: Chipasula: Team effort key for Zambia at WAFCON