In a friendly match on a neutral field, Botswana and Rwanda, both ranked outside of top-100, will clash at Stade Kianja Barea Mahamasina in Antananarivo, Madagaskar. Game will begin on Friday, March 22, at 2 PM CET.
Botswana
A 146th ranked side missed the cut to the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, as Botswana fell behind Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea. However, in the World Cup qualifiers, the team started with a win over a solid Guinea side and a close loss to Mozambique.
Avenging that loss with a January “1-1” draw, Botswana is ready to jump up in the rankings, but without official tournaments to play in, there are only friendlies for the foreseen future.
Rwanda
Rwanda, similar to their next opponents, failed to qualify for the CAF Cup of Nations, as they finished last in the group with Senegal, Mozambique and Benin. On a bright side, the World Cup qualifier started with them taking down a Cup of Nations semi-finalists from South Africa and playing Zimbabwe to a scoreless tie, which gives Rwanda a solid ground to stand on.
Placed 133th in the last edition of the FIFA rankings, Rwanda will seek the rise close to top-100, goal, which can be helped in the upcoming set of international friendlies.
Prediction ⚽️
Botswana and Rwanda have never played each other, let alone, on a neutral field in Madagascar, so the game is not expected to bring a firework show to the pitch.
The latter might be a slight favorite to their recent results, but January Cup of Nations showed that African sides are more than willing to go the distance, therefore, we will bet on a draw between the two.