Hesron Kapanga

KORHOGO – Former Brave Warriors’ captain Ronald Ketjijere said the team’s results against South Africa on Sunday were disappointing, but it’s time for them to move on and focus on their upcoming game against Mali.

Ketjijere’s comments come after the Namibian team lost their second match 0-4 at the 2023 Ivory Coast African Cup of Nations underway here.

In an interview with Nampa on Sunday, he emphasised the importance of the next game, saying that a win against Mali is crucial if the team wants to advance to the round of 16.

“We had a very poor performance in our game against South Africa. Our team had a bad day at the office, and didn’t show up for the game. 

The early penalty we conceded also played a major role in our defeat, as we couldn’t get a grip on the game after that. However, we have a capable technical team who will work with the players to rectify the mistakes, and encourage them to focus on their next game against Mali,” Ketjijere said, adding that the team will need to go back to the drawing board and work harder to improve on their performance.

“It’s going to be a very difficult game against Mali, who are a ball-playing team, but we just have to prepare for them. 

We managed to beat Tunisia; therefore, going into the Mali game will depend on who wants it the most. If we play well, confidently and according to our tactics and plan as we did against Tunisia, we might get the results,” he observed.

Namibia is currently placed third in their group, tied on three points with second-placed South Africa. Mali leads the group with four points, while Tunisia is at the bottom with a single point. Namibia’s last group game is against Mali in San Pedro today. 

–Nampa