Libya faces Tunisia in the road to CHAN 2020
Libya wants to guarantee their fourth appearance in the tournament designed especially for home based players when they visit neighbors Tunisia in the first leg of the North Zone qualifiers of Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Cameroon 2020.
Libya coach Jalal Damga introduced various changes to the Mediterranean Knights squad, leaving out some of the regular faces that took part in the previous editions. Most notable absentees are goalkeeper Mohamed Nashnoush, who was one of the key players behind Libya’s glory in CHAN 2014, and Mohamed Eltabbal, besides losing some players for plying their trade abroad after taking part in CHAN before.
Damga recalled 22 players for this fixture, before losing Muataz Mahdy for personal reasons and Khaled Magdy who was injured during his side Al Nasr match against Morocco’s Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League last weekend.
Some players are having their debut in CHAN qualifiers, including Ittihad’s Imran Salem, Ahly Benghazi duet Mohamed Tawergi and Mohamed Fathy, and Al Nasr midfielder Muhannad Bouagila.
“Playing your neighbors is always a special unexpected game whatever the differences are”, Damga told CAFOnline.com. “Despite not having enough time to prepare, and although there is no league in Libya but we will do our best to have a good game, and we are dreaming of reaching the finals”.
“We have some young players that we gave them confidence to go and play for their country, and we know they can be a very good addition to the senior national team in the future”, he added.
Libya were crowned champions of the 2014 edition in South Africa, defeating Ghana on penalty shootout in the final. They are hoping for another appearance in next year edition as they see it a preparation for Total AFCON Cameroon 2021 qualifications, which they kick-off also against Tunisia in November.
Fixtures
Central Zone
22.09.2019 Bangui Central Africa vs DR Congo
22.09.2019 Malabo Equatorial Guinea vs Congo
Central-East Zone
21.09.2019 Bujumbura Burundi vs Uganda
22.09.2019 Mekelle Ethiopia vs Rwanda
22.09.2019 Dar es Salaam Tanzania vs Sudan
South Zone
22.09.2019 Manzini Eswatini vs Zambia
22.09.2019 Antananarivo Madagascar vs Namibia
22.09.2019 Harare Zimbabwe vs Lesotho
North Zone
21.09.2019 Blida Algeria vs Morocco
21.09.2019 Tunis Tunisia vs Libya
West A Zone
21.09.2019 Nouakchott Mauritania vs Mali
21.09.2019 Thies Senegal vs Guinea
West B Zone
22.09.2019 Lome Togo vs Nigeria
22.09.2019 Niamey Niger vs Cote d’Ivoire
22.09.2019 Kumasi Ghana vs Burkina Faso