The Brave Warriors are out of the running for the 2025 AFCON that will be held in Morocco next year after losing four games.The Braves opened their AFCON qualification in September against Cameroon, and played to a 1-0 defeat. They took on Kenya the same month at the Orlando Stadium in South Africa and lost 2-1. In October they played back to back matches against Zimbabwe,losing their home game 1-0 and Zimbabwe capitalized on their home advantage when they defeated Namibia 3-1.
Commenting on the results and the upcoming games against Cameroon and Kenya,Head Coach Collin Benjamin didn’t shy away from taking accountability and in the same vein singing praise to his players.
“It’s definitely not the results we were hoping for especially after making history in January at AFCON in Cote D’ivoire,we are disappointed but we know this is how football works. The team competed very well,the boys went out there despite all the issues back home and did their best and that is evident in the defeat margins;which are very small. We take the defeats head on and dust ourselves off and keep fighting because that is what we are made of Benjamin said
“We are out of the competition but that doesn’t mean the upcoming games will be a run in the park, all the other teams want to qualify and we are going to make it worth their while.
He further adds that the goal has always been to get exposure for the players so they can leave the country and are in a better space to take care of themselves and their families.
“The games came with their results but we can actually look back and say look at the number of players Namibia was able to export in a space of a year. We have Approcius Petrus and Prins Tjiueza who signed for Cape Town Spurs in one of the best leagues in Africa.Erastus Kalula,Romeo Kasume and Tjipee Karuuombe who are playing out of Africa this is what we want, to send as many players as possible out of the country.
The Warriors will play the final round of the AFCON qualifiers against Cameroon and Kenya in South Africa.
Namibia vs Cameroon will take place at the Orlando stadium in Johannesburg on 13 November at 15:00
Kenya opted to bring their home match to South Africa. Kenya versus Namibia will be played in Polokwane at the Peter Mokaba stadium on 19 November at 15:00 aswell.