He avoided commenting on Ait Nouri’s dismissal from training… Hamdani:
The national team coach, Ibrahim Hamdani, said that caution must be exercised during the confrontation with the Burundi national team, today, within the framework of the second round of the 2027 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, given that the homeowners will work to rectify the defeat they suffered in the first round against Togo in the capital, Lomé, with an unanswered goal, stressing that he and his assistant staff examined the opponent more than once and identified his strengths and weaknesses, where he Hamdani said in this context: “We studied the Burundian national team well and our goal is nothing more than achieving victory. It is true that we beat the Burundians in a friendly 4-0 match two years ago, but we are fully aware that the Burundian national team is not easy to win and will work to have its say on its home soil and in front of its fans, so we must be careful from the beginning.”
As for the pitch at Enturai Square in the capital, Bujumbura, which will host today’s match, Hamdani said that it is good, and the majority of the team’s players are accustomed to playing on artificial turf, before returning to talking about the important victory achieved by the national team, on Friday, at the expense of Zambia in the first qualifying exit from the “CAN”, stressing that the national squad appeared at a wonderful level, especially in the second half of the match, hoping to achieve a strong start. In today’s match, he said: “We played well against Zambia, and especially in the second half we were at the same level. I only hope that we will have a strong start against Burundi so that we do not face difficulties over time in the match.”
Regarding the issue of left-back Rayan Ait Nouri and his future and the national team, after he was released from training after what happened in the reserve seat during the confrontation with the Zambian national team, on Friday, coach Hamdani avoided talking about it, preferring to focus on the confrontation with Burundi, where he responded by saying in this context, and Hamdani said, on the sidelines of the press conference that he held yesterday, on the eve of the national team’s confrontation with its host Burundi, “We made a long journey from Algeria to Bujumbura. We are focused on recovering to enter the next confrontation with all our strength, and our attention at the present time is focused on the match that awaits us in the framework of the second round of the “CAN” qualifiers against Burundi.”
Note that the national team will host this afternoon a heavy guest on its Burundian counterpart, in the framework of the second round of qualifiers for the 2027 African Cup of Nations, at the “Intoray” Stadium in the capital, “Bujumbura”, in a match moderated by Botswana referee Thabang Ketshabele, knowing that the hosts of the land had lost in the Togolese capital, “Lome”, to the local team at the “Kegi” stadium, with a goal without a response, at a time when the “Greens” achieved their first victory in the tournament. The qualifiers were defeated by the Zambian national team by three goals to one at the “Hussein Ait Ahmed” stadium in Tizi Ouzou, on Friday.
Note that the match will be officiated by a Botswana refereeing team led by Thabang Ketshabile, with the assistance of his compatriots Kegagolagitswe Lucky and Gasilameh Molefe, while the fourth referee will be Botswana Gaolaoloy Kithoboghele.
