Libya coach Corentin Martins is ready for a'repeat' of qualifying in Afcon 2023.

Libya's new coach, Corentin Martins, has stated that qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast will be difficult.

For the latest qualifications, the Frenchman's team has been placed in Group J alongside Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea, which they faced in the qualifying campaign for the 2021 championships, as well as Botswana.

The Mediterranean Knights were eliminated from the tournament in Cameroon in 2021 after finishing last in their group, with Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea securing the top two spots.

"It will not be easy," former Mauritania coach Martins told BBC Sport Africa. "But we will fight until the end to try and qualify."

"Each campaign and match is unique, and there is a distinction between previous and upcoming competitions."

"Libya is now similar to Tunisia in that we both have new coaches at this point." We're putting together a schedule for these crucial games; I understand that time is limited, but it won't be an issue for us."

The first two qualifiers will take place between May 30 and June 14, followed by two further games in September and a final pair in March.

Martins, 52, took Mauritania to their first-ever Nations Cup finals in 2019 and repeated the feat two years later, but he was fired before this year's tournament in Cameroon due to a poor start in World Cup qualifying.

He was named Libya's new coach last week, succeeding Spaniard Javier Clemente, who departed the North African country by mutual consent after his second spell.

Libya has not qualified for the Nations Cup finals since the 2012 tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and their highest Nations Cup finish was runner-up in 1982 on home soil, losing on penalties to Ghana in the final.

"I have come here to work and do something for Libyan football, and I thank the officials for giving me this trust," Martins stated after his unveiling as a coach.

He went on to compliment the quality of Libya's players, saying that he has watched the national squad in action several times and that it had proven to him that they are of a high enough caliber to be successful.