Brave Warriors mentor Collin Benjamin has a mammoth task today against Lesotho in what is expected to be a titanic battle between the two countries in the ongoing Cosafa Cup showdown.
Namibia’s Brave Warriors have amassed two points from their group B encounters against Angola last Thursday (1-1) and Sunday’s clash against Malawi in which they played to a goalless draw.
Benjamin needs to pull a convincing will against Lesotho, who are second in group B on three points, while Namibia is seated third on a mere two points.
With only one team expected to progress beyond the group stages, Angola are in a favourable position to make it through the group stages, but can Benjamin’s charges pull out one of their most convincing displays of talent ever and pray Angola loses to Malawi to put Namibia in pole position for progression in the tournament?
Reflecting on the game against Malawi on Sunday, Benjamin said: “I thought we would pick up more points in today’s match, but the Malawian team put up a good fight and they were aggressive in the in-fights. They forced us to play long balls, and that gave us problems.
“We had a few chances but failed to capitalise. The end result is a true reflection of the match we have to pick up and return to the drawing board.
“As it stands, the group remains wide open, every team still stands a chance and we want to advance, so going into our next game this will be the mind set and approach,” he said.
The match expected to yield fireworks at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium for their final group fixture.
It will test Namibia’s character to see if they have the depth to take on the challenge head-on by progressing beyond the group stages.
Leading to the actual kick-off of the Cosafa Cup tournament, Benjamin is on record having said that this year event is for the Brave Warriors to lift the coveted trophy, which they last won in 2015 through the mentorship of former coach Ricardo Mannetti.
Former Brave Warriors midfield maestro Johannes ‘Congo’ Hindjou admitted it will be a tough encounter against Lesotho today.
He said for Namibia to make it through to the semi-final stages, they must beat Lesotho convincingly, and hope for Malawi to beat Angola.
Hindjou said for Namibia to truly make it through, the young lads must dig deeper and get the convincing win against Lesotho.
“Lesotho does not have a good history against Namibia. All that is needed is for us to create the needed chances and capitalize on by finding the back of the net,” he said.
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