Guinea's youthful team showed glimpses of their potential in their opening African Nations Cup match last week but their 6-1 win over Botswana on Saturday night emphasised a bright future for the Syli Nationale.

It might not come at this tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, because they would need to still beat Ghana in their last qualifier to go through to the last eight, but with the World Cup qualifiers ahead Guinea have shown they can be a force.

It is a side with new young elements, backed by the experience of the likes of Pascal Feinduono and Ismael Bangoura, that plays at a high tempo and looks to run opponents off their feet.

That was certainly the case with Botswana, who were overwhelmed by the pace and the tempo of the game in Franceville.

Initially Modiri Marumo in the Botswana goal held the Guineans at bay but once Sadio Diallo had scored in the 15th minute, it was always going to be a comfortable win.

"We needed to win because we don't want to go back home. We were not lucky against Mali, but we very satisfied we scored many goals in this game," said Guinea's coach Michel Dussuyer.

"Botswana showed in their qualifiers they are a good team and so to score six goals against them was very satisfying for my team."

But he was probably being somewhat generous because the Zebras were not in the same class, as evidenced by the fact they had conceded four goals by half-time and lost Patrick Motsepe to a red card for a horror tackle.

"We must accept that Guinea were the better team, even though three or four of the goals we let in were our own mistakes," admitted Stanley Tshosane.

"We are sorry to our fans because we expected what our country expected."

Botswana still have a small window of opportunity but would have to beat Mali with a decent score and hope Ghana thrash Guinea when group D concludes on Wednesday. It is highly unlikely any of that will occur, leaving Botswana to exit with valuable experience.