For the Brave Warriors to progress through to the next round of the African Nations Championship (Chan), they would have to score more than twice when they play this weekend against Lesotho. 

The match is set to start at 15h00 on Sunday, and will be played at the 45 000 Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein in the Free State province in South Africa. 

The Warriors head into Sunday’s encounter with a goal deficit after they suffered a 1-0 scoreline at the hands of the Crocodiles of Lesotho. 

Hlompho “Stigga” Kalake scored the only goal when the two nations met in the first leg of the two-legged encounter. 

Speaking this week from South Africa, mentor John Sikerete said the team is in good spirit, and they are positive of turning their fortunes around when they meet this weekend. 

“It’s not the results that we wanted, and [we are] not taking away from our opponents being a better side on that day. But I believe it’s not something that should get us so worried. We know what we are capable of, and we are going to turn the results into something positive,” he added.

“Lesotho consists of quite good players who are young and hungry, and that’s what would make [the] weekend’s match interesting. As a team, we know what is expected of us in the second leg and last match. 

“We know it’s a neutral venue but our goal remains the same, which is to progress to the next round of the Chan, and eventually book our spot at the tournament next year,” he said. 

This year’s qualifiers mark Namibia’s return to the tournament after missing the 2022 edition due to financial constraints by the Namibia Football Association. 

The Chan is a biennial tournament, organised by the Confederation of African Football since 2009. 

The participating nations must consist of players representing their national league competitions only.

DR Congo and Morocco are the most successful teams in this tournament with two titles each.

They are followed by Tunisia, Libya and incumbent champions Senegal with one title each.

The tournament officially started in 2009 with eight teams, before doubling that number in the second edition. 

It is contested by 18 teams since the 2022 edition.

– mkambukwe@nepc.com.na