Madagascar coach Romuald Rakotondrabe has refused to set a target for the Barea at the 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals, saying now is the time to savour qualification.
He said this after the Barea sneaked through to the CHAN finals at the expense of Eswatini who beat Madagascar 1-0 on Sunday in the second leg of their qualifying clash, resulting in a 2-1 aggregate victory for the island nation.
"There is still a lack of experience. We suffered but congratulations to the players. They fought hard from start to finish...The most important thing is the qualification," Rakotondrabe told Malagasy newspaper L'Express. Asked about his ambition after achieving back-to-back CHAN qualifications, he replied: "Let us first enjoy the qualification. We have to work hard because there are many things to improve...It is not the same team and the same players...we have to work."
The Barea lost 0-1 to Eswatini at the Côte d'Or stadium in Mauritius but still advanced to the finals 2-1 on goal-aggregate having won the second round, first leg match 2-0 at Lucas Moripe Stadium in South Africa on December 21, 2024. Madagascar hope to improve their last CHAN performance when they clinched a bronze medal at the 2022 edition. Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya will host the tournament from 1 to 28 February 2025.
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