by Carlos Kambaekwa
Windhoek
Having lost what would be rightly considered an insurmountable amount of ground to progress through to the qualifying rounds of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Southern African regional champions Namibia go into their match against Gambia with their tails held high.
Having lost both their opening group matches against Niger and Senegal respectively, the wounded Namibians still have a slight chance of sneaking in provided the team win all their remaining group matches and hope other results go their way.
The Namibians trot onto the field later today for their penultimate first round clash against hosts Gambia in the Gambian capital, Banjul, and are determined to fashion out a comprehensive win against the hosts before the two nations continue their battle in the second round match five days later in Windhoek.
It’s crucial for Namibia to come out unscathed if they are to entertain any hopes of staging a last minute dash to reassert themselves as serious contenders for the top-two finish upon completion of the qualifying rounds – a mission which remains well within their grip.
If the Brave Warriors remain calm and show the same character, gusto and the same determination demonstrated during their courageous campaign throughout the Cosafa Cup, Namibians could brace themselves for an exciting encounter.
Well, why not? The boys have been in such situations before and came out unstuck lest we forget that historic Sunday afternoon in Libreville, Gabon in 1997, when a fairly young skinny Congo “Jakkals” Hindjou stepped up to dispatch a last-minute penalty kick that sent Namibia to her maiden appearance in the Afcon finals in Burkina Faso in 1998.