Brave Warriors head coach Bobby Samaria yesterday expressed disappointment with the last-minute withdrawal of stalwarts, goalkeeper Virgil Vries and defender Riaan Hanamub for tomorrow’s 2022 Fifa World Cup second-round qualifier away to Congo.

The Warriors, who last month suffered back-to-back defeats against Group H leaders Senegal as their qualifying campaign hit a snag, will tomorrow square off against Congo at Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat in Brazzaville.

It is a must-win match for the Namibians, and Samaria is adamant his charges are in the right frame of mind and shape to run down the Congolese in their backyard. 

He, however, shared they will have a top-do battle without the reliable services of Vries and Hanamub.

“Riaan has some paperwork to sort out with his club in South Africa, while Virgil, on the other hand, had a scan and the results came back late, so they are both set to miss the match. But I have 26 players who are more than capable of doing the job at hand,” she said.

Samaria is, however, comforted by the return of England-based defender Ryan Nyambe, who joined the team in Congo ahead of tomorrow’s penultimate clash.

“Ryan is a different player, who brings a different element to the team. We, so far, trained on the Astroturf, which was not easy for the professionals, as they are used to the natural grass but we soldier on and do our best on match day.”

After the Congo clash, the Warriors will head to Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, to host Togo on Monday, 15 November. Namibia has never qualified for the Fifa World Cup but made three appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations in 1998, 2008 and 2019.

Senegal is currently topping Group H with 12 points, followed by Namibia and Togo, who are both on four points, while Congo sits bottom with two points.

The winners of Africa’s 10 qualifying groups will contest the World Cup qualifying play-offs in March next year to determine the continent’s five representatives to the 2022 Fifa World Cup finals in Qatar.