Warriors exit Cosafa Cup

Despite a 3-0 victory against Lesotho on Tuesday evening, the Brave Warriors bowed out of the Cosafa Cup tournament after being pipped to the post by their nemesis, Angola.

Their progress to the semi-finals was out of their hands following two draws against Angola and Malawi. Only an Angola defeat against Malawi would see them through, but Angola grabbed the group B qualifying spot after beating Malawi 1-0 in their final match.

Against Lesotho, Sisqo Haraseb gave Namibia an early lead with a pinpoint header from a corner, but Lesotho matched them throughout until the final 10 minutes when Namibia won two penalties which Betuel Muzeu and Joslin Kamatuka put away.

In the end, though, it was immaterial as a Randy Nteka goal gave Angola the win against Malawi which put them top of group B on seven points, while Namibia finished second on five, followed by Lesotho (3) and Malawi (1).

Although Namibia have been eliminated, a number of new players have now gained international experience, as coach Collin Benjamin continues to build depth in the national squad.

Five players made their debuts for Namibia, including Haraseb (24), Wise Lifasi (23) and Vevengapi Mbuende (19), as they blended in with several other experienced stalwarts like the impressive centre back Charles Hambira, who won his 51st cap against Lesotho, Ivan Kamberipa, Awilo Stephanus, Joslin Kamatuka and Betuel Muzeu.

At the post-match press conference, Benjamin said he was grateful he could use the opportunity to bring new players into the squad.

“I am particularly proud that we could give debuts to these players so that we can widen the pool of players that you can choose from in Namibia.

“We gave a debut to a 19-year-old that played today. It’s the first time that he played at this level, and you could see that the level of athleticism and the intensity of the games are much higher than what they are used to at home.

“You need to be an athlete to be able to compete at this level, so hopefully the players will learn these lessons and just keep on improving.”

Benjamin said there were promising signs from the new caps.

“We had good opponents in these three matches and there’s definitely a growth that happened in terms of player development. If I look at a player like Sergio Damasep, who played in the defensive midfield role for the first time now, and the power, the strength that he showed, that is really commendable.

“Sisqo Haraseb, who we’re trying to get into the fold, was solid, but we need to see what is the next step for him. Against the ball, he’s doing it good, but now it’s with the ball and those spaces. Those are the things that we’re taking away from this tournament and that we want to take with into the competitive fields waiting for us in September.”

Benjamin said despite the defeats there are important lessons to be learnt.

“We all want to win because through winning, the players grow in confidence, but at the same time we know that through defeats that’s also when you take the hardest lessons. We take these three games as lessons, and we’re going to analyse them properly, see individually what is it that we did good, and then minimise the mistakes we made. I can tell you for a fact that even in today’s game, I think we could have held the ball better,” he said.

The Brave Warriors attention will now turn to the FIFA World Cup qualifiers coming up in September, where Namibia is currently lying second in the CAF group H. With four matches remaining, Tunisia lead the group on 16 points, while Namibia are second, four points behind.

When asked about the World Cup, Benjamin called on the players to work hard.

“I think we’re allowed to dream. It’s for free, but the work that we have to put in, that is the reflection and the message you want to get to the players. It’s not only when you’re on national duty that you do the work. The work is done before. Those are the lessons you want to take away from this tournament.”

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