On Friday, the Libyan national football team triumphed over Eswatini with a 1-0 score, in a thrilling start to the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Ahmed Ikrawa proved pivotal, scoring the sole goal for Libya in the 53rd minute of the match.
This win follows yesterday’s Group Four opener, which ended in a goalless draw between Cape Verde and Angola.
The group’s action continued on Friday, with another clash between Cameroon and Mauritius.
Last month, Serbian coach Milutin Micho Sredojević was appointed as the Head Coach of the Libyan national football team.
Micho had a stint with Egypt’s Zamalek in 2019, where he secured the Egyptian Cup title by defeating Pyramids FC.
In June, the former coach of the Libyan national football team, Hamdi Battaw resigned after failing to qualify for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The 42-year-old led the Knights of the Mediterranean in three matches, during the qualifiers for the African Nations. He was unsuccessful in all of them. The Libyans lost two games to Tunisia, and another game to Botswana.
“Today we are at the end of the journey in training the national team, after failing to qualify for the African Cup of Nations,” Battaw said in his resignation letter.
“I apologize to the fans in Libya for this failure, and for not achieving satisfactory results,” he added.
Bataw was appointed to succeed former Mauritania coach, Corentin Martins who lost his job after a disappointing African Nations Championship campaign.
Earlier, the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) issued stern warnings to players and club presidents, threatening severe penalties for any player attempting to avoid representing the Libyan national team.
The Federation called on international players who have been selected by the national team coach to “fully commit and join the national team.”