Maqonda Ndlovu
The Brave Warriors have intensified their preparations for the 2023 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup which kicks off on Sunday in Durban.
Speaking at the training session yesterday morning at the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Technical Centre, Brave Warriors coach Collin Benjamin said the teams have been working a lot on their intensity, ball retention and circulation as well as movement.
“We worked on our set pieces both for and against us, and the responsibility of defending and containing certain moments. We noticed that usually, we pass responsibility to the next person at set pieces,” Benjamin said.
The former Hamburger SV player said while the team performed badly in their last match against Burundi in Tanzania recently, they analysed the mistakes and learnt from them, saying that the first 30 minutes of that game determined the overall outcome of the game. On their plans for the Cosafa, Benjamin said they aspire to win the tournament and to do so, they need to minimise mistakes and take advantage of the opposition’s weaknesses.
“We have to do our homework as well as possible. When that homework is done, we can go for it. Our guys are ready; the team spirit is high. The team created a certain expectation last year when they reached the finals of the tournament. That is water under the bridge for now, we are looking at this challenge and we want to go as far as possible in the tournament,” Benjamin said.
The coach said since the Cosafa Cup is not part of the Fifa calendar, clubs are not obliged to release players, hence the absence of some foreign-based players.
This, he said, will allow young players like Junior Petrus and Aprocious Petrus to stake a claim in the first team while Elmo Kambindu will have to prove himself as a leader up front. On the type of football the team will play at Cosafa, Benjamin said they will be aggressive with the ball, minimise the mistake and utilise their speed.
Benjamin told New Era Sport that the team will leave for South Africa on Sunday and play their first match against hosts South Africa on Wednesday.
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