Brave Warriors playing for morale and pride 

The Brave Warriors’ hopes of reaching the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco may have ended, but the upcoming clashes against Cameroon and Kenya presents an opportunity to build cohesion and confidence.

Namibia, who have one point from four matches, will host Group J leaders Cameroon in their penultimate Afcon qualifier at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa today, before facing Kenya away next week Tuesday.

Cameroon aim to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table and guarantee their spot as group winners, while third-placed Kenya eye the second qualifying spot.

With eight points on the board, Zimbabwe need only to avoid defeat to Kenya on Friday to secure qualification before facing Cameroon in their final match next week.

There is still plenty to play for in their remaining two pool matches as head coach Collin Benjamin rebuilds his team for future campaigns, not least the on-going 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

The Brave Warriors have made a strong start to their World Cup qualifying campaign and are unbeaten after four matches (W2 D2).

They are next in action in that competition in March, and this will be the final time they assemble before that.

It has been tougher going in the Afcon qualifiers with the side yet to pick up a point, and Benjamin acknowledges they have fallen short of expectations.

“It’s definitely not the results we were hoping for, especially after making history in January at Afcon in Ivory Coast (by making the round of 16),” Benjamin says.

“We are disappointed, but we know this is how football works. The team competed very well, the boys went out there despite all the issues back home and did their best and that is evident in the defeat margins, which are very small.

“We take the defeats head on and dust ourselves off and keep fighting because that is what we are made of. We are out of the competition but that doesn’t mean the upcoming games will be a run in the park, all the other teams want to qualify and we are going to make (the work hard).”

Benjamin also lauded the fact that the last 12 months has seen several national team players ply their trade abroad and get opportunities to further their careers.

“The games came with their (disappointing) results but we can actually look back and say, ‘look at the number of players Namibia was able to export in a space of a year’,” he says.

“We have Aprocius Petrus and Prins Tjiueza, who signed for Cape Town City in one of the best leagues in Africa. Erastus Kalula, Romeo Kasume and Tjipe Karuuombe, who are playing outside of Africa. This is what we want, to send as many players as possible out of the country.”

Both Namibia’s final two qualifiers will be played in South Africa. After their clash with Cameroon in Soweto, their away clash with Kenya to finish their pool play will be staged in Polokwane next Tuesday.

Namibia do have some fond recent memories of facing Cameroon. They took four points off the Indomitable Lions in the 2023 Afcon finals qualifiers, which included a 2-1 win at the Orlando Stadium.

Peter Shalulile and Absalom Iimbondi were on target in one of the best wins for the side in recent times. They also drew 1-1 away in Yaoundé.

Cameroon won the reverse fixture in this qualification campaign 1-0 in September as veteran striker Vincent Aboubakar got the only goal in the second half.

The Brave Warriors to face Cameroon and Kenya are:

Goalkeepers – Loyd Kazapua, Edward Maova, Kamaijanda Ndisiro;

Defenders – Charles Hambira, Tuli Nashixwa, Ngero Katua, Riaan Hanamub, Vitapi Ngaruka, Arend Abubakir, Kennedy Eib, Sergio Damaseb, Ivan Kamberipa;

Midfielders – Aprocius Petrus, Moses Shidolo, Paulus Amutenya, Lawrence Doeseb, Godwin Eiseb, Prins Tjiueza, Deon Hotto;

Forwards – Elmo Kambindu, Peter Shalulile, Rewaldo Prins, Willy Stephanus and Betuel Muzeu. – Adapted from Cosafa.com