WINDHOEK – The wounded but very-much determined Brave Warriors of Namibia will tomorrow be under pressure to apply all tricks in the book of tricks if they are to avoid an upset against an unpredictable Madagascar side, which narrowly grassed past them in the first leg of the final round qualifiers for the 2020 African Nations Championship (Chan) away in Antananarivo last month.
Tomorrow at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in the capital, interim coach Bobby Samaria and his Warriors will face a mammoth task of overturning a 1-0 deficit emanating from the first leg of their two-legged qualifiers when they welcome the Bareas of the Indian Ocean for the home leg.
Speaking to the local football association’s media team ahead of tomorrow’s match against the visiting islanders, coach Samaria admitted they will be faced with a demanding job of rising above the task at hand largely because of the goal they conceded away in Madagascar.
But he however insisted the boys are eager and willing to do better this time around. “The boys really did well in Madagascar during the first leg but the finishing was a serious concern, we created chances but couldn’t score. This week we have been focusing on finishing and scoring goals and we hope by Saturday the boys will be well composed and not rush things in front of a goal,” said Samaria.
He added that the team will be without key player Larry Horaeb as a result of two yellow cards he obtained but said the addition of midfielder Wangu Gome and striker Issaskar Gurirab to the squad has added much firepower to the team.
The aggregate winner of Saturday’s match will qualify for the 2020 Chan finals to be held in Cameroon. Next year’s Chan tournament will be the 6th edition of the biennial football competition, which is organised by Caf and it exclusively features players playing in their respective domestic leagues. It will be hosted between January and February 2020 in Cameroon.
Unlike the Afcon, the competing national teams must be composed of players plying their trades domestically. For example, a Namibian player is only eligible to play for Namibia at Chan if he is playing for a Namibian club. Morocco are the defending champions.
Match tickets are on sale for N$30 in advance at Football House in Katutura and at all Computicket outlets countrywide, but will be N$50 at the gates on match day.