WINDHOEK – Namibia’s Under-20 football team left for Maseru, Lesotho in the wee hours of yesterday morning, as the youngsters embarked on the journey by road to the mountain kingdom to begin their assault on the annual Under-20 COSAFA Championship, which gets underway on Wednesday.
The youngsters have been in camp for the past three weeks and according to head coach Ronnie Kanalelo, preparations have been going very well with combinations and tactics taking centre stage.
“We have been working hard with the boys. It has been all about finding the right combinations and drilling in the tactics and thus far the response has been very pleasing,” said Kanalelo.
The former Brave Warriors shot stopper revealed that the team plans to play a very high-tempo game and suffocate their opponents with speed and structure in order to score goals to progress as far as possible.
“We plan to play fast attractive football with a lot of numbers involved in our play in terms of going forward, while keeping shape at the back as well. It is also about maintaining the structure of the team at all times and pressing the opponents very high up into their own half, playing for each other and for the team’s cause,” said Kanalelo.
Kanalelo is however cognizant of the quality of opponents in the group of death. “We will surely face tough competition during this tourney and respect all our opponents because we all want to win and so it won’t be an easy walk in the park for us. We’ll have to work hard for victories, which is very important going forward. For example, Zambia are the defending champions and very physical and quick, but we will try to stretch them as far as possible and see what happens.”
Namibia is grouped in Group C alongside Zambia, South Africa and Seychelles and opens her account with a date against Zambia on Wednesday, with only the winners to advance to the semi-finals.
The full squad reads as follows: Goalkeepers: Edward Maova and Donovan Gaunub, Defenders: Innocent Tembo, Fimaneka Kabungu, Ananias Nakambuli, Ivan Kamberipa, Nathan Gideon, Salom Pamp and Marius Kotze. Midfielders: Brendan Goagoseb, Esko Kavela, Mcbright Ndjavera, Issensius Mutuku, Glen Kamutjete Wendell Rudath and Marco Somseb. Strikers: Terdius Uiseb, Ambrosius Amseb, Henrico Hoebeb and Gerland Kaengurova.
Meanwhile, local assistant referee, Eneas Shikongo, has been roped in to officiate at the championships and will be joined by compatriot Reinhold Malima for the COSAFA region referees development course.
By Staff Reporter