Seychelles national team coach Gavin Jeanne has thrown in the towel and says his charges have no chance of qualifying for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon.
Bafana Bafana beat Seychelles 6-0 at FNB Stadium on Saturday and the islanders‚ who have never qualified for the Afcon‚ are bottom of the group.
Jeanne said their attempt to qualify for the Afcon is as good as over after the drubbing as he doesn’t see ‘The Pirates’ overtaking their opponents in the group.
“In every single match we play there’s something positive‚” said Jeanne as he tried to answer whether they can still qualify.
“Being in this group from the first day it was going to be tough. We are really not thinking about qualification.
“We were thinking about testing ourselves at the highest level. This was the main objective.”
Jeanne said his team will cherish the experience they gained playing against some of the top teams on the continent.
“Once you are in a group against Nigeria and South Africa you know that it is going to be difficult‚ everyone knew that‚” said the Seychelles coach.
“The main objective was not really about qualification‚ it was about trying to measure ourselves against the best.
“Once you see that you are struggling in the group you want to use it as an experience.
"No‚ it’s very difficult for us to qualify. At the moment it’s not so bright‚ but it wasn’t really our main objective.”
Jeanne said it was tough for his team‚ which is full of amateurs‚ to compete pound for pound against their group rivals.
“Every match is an experience for us‚” said Jeanne.
“We don’t have many opportunities to play test matches‚ so we have to try everything in competitive matches. So it’s very difficult for us.”
Seychelles are competing with Bafana‚ Nigeria and Libya in Group E for a berth in next year’s finals.
Bafana are top of the group with seven points followed by Nigeria with six points at the halfway mark of qualification.
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