BOTSWANA were the surprise team of the first round of matches when they gave World Cup quarter-finalists Ghana a run for their money on Tuesday. Though the Zebras lost 1-0, they proved that they were not pushovers and showed how much the smaller African countries have developed.

The debutants showed the reason why they were the first team to qualify for the tournament as they played the Ghanaians in a pulsating game and only lost courtesy of a scrambled goal off a corner kick from John Mensah. The Zebra’s forward man Jerome Ramatlhakwane was on his way to put them equal when he was brought down by goal scorer Mensah, who was promptly given his matching orders.

They will face the Syli Natonale of Guinea who also lost their opening match 1-0 to Mali. This game is shaping up to be a winner takes all affair, with the losers sure to be eliminated, while the three points for the win may still allow for survival in a group that contains favourites Ghana.