“We have done it before and we have been through it before” …are the words that keep the Brave Warriors’ camp brimming with confidence ahead of tomorrow’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Namibia, which has no active elite league to select top players from and also faces challenges of downgraded stadiums, will be expected to put all their domestic woes behind them and fully focus on conquering the Swallows of Burundi.
Brave Warriors’ interim head coach Bobby Samaria said yesterday that it will be mind over matter when they square off against Burundi for their Group C clash as he draws inspiration from previous feats when Namibia qualified for the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) and the 2019 Afcon, despite the lack of an active premier league at that time.
“I think Burundi will be a challenge, but we need to be bigger than all those challenges that we face at the present moment. It won’t be an easy encounter against them, but remember that we also share the same ambitions and aspirations of wanting to qualify for next year’s Afcon. So, we will go out there and do what we do best. The boys are determined, and all share a similar desire to win our opening match of this crucial qualifiers,” added the gaffer.
Namibia is pitted against continental powerhouse Cameroon and Burundi in Group C. Kenya, who were initially also part of the group, were recently expelled by Fifa due to their government’s interference in football matters.
This now leaves Namibia and Burundi to fight for a place at next year’s Afcon in Ivory Coast. The Brave Warriors have their intentions set on a return to the big stage, having failed to secure qualification to the last edition this year, and therefore a win is a must tomorrow.
“We have been doing well in terms of preparations, and the team spirit in the camp is high. We are all looking forward to Saturday’s encounter. We have had several training sessions here, and we also played a friendly against Lesotho, which was equally important in terms of preparing for this match. Burundi has also improved over the past few years, so we are not going to look down on them,” observed Samaria, who also shared that England-based defender Ryan Nyambe, Wangu Gome and Aubrey Amseb all withdrew due to injuries.
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon remain favourites to progress from this group, and will look to do so with an unmatched list made up of experienced and celebrated players like Vincent Aboubakar, who ended the 2021 Afcon as top scorer.
Namibia has been to three Afcons: in 1998, 2008 and then 2019. Burundi only made their Afcon debut in 2019 when they lost all their matches and exited the group stage without scoring a single goal.
The top two teams from Group C will join the rest from the 11 other groups at next year’s Afcon in Ivory Coast, set to run from 23 June to 23 July 2023.
- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na