• Sport

Brave Warriors take on next job today

• 5 Days Ago

Namibia’s Brave Warriors focus has now been shifted to their clash against Guinea, following Friday’s 1-0 win in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe.

Collin Benjamin's men have all to play for as they remain well-placed to qualify to their first-ever World Cup.

Their 1-0 win against Malawi away from home extended their unbeaten run in the qualifiers.

They will hope that Prins Tjiueza who scored the winning goal just before halftime will maintain his form in their match against Equatorial Guinea.

Coach Collin Benjamin said the players have rested well and are looking forward for their clash against Equatorial Guinea.

“The result against Malawi was good for us and I was happy with the way we handled the match.

“Equatorial Guinea are a different opponent with a different approach and that is why we have to play to our strengths.

“In group matches, getting points at home is very important as it bolsters your chances of going through,” Benjamin said.

Today’s match will be played at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane in South Africa’s Limpopo Province.

Namibia are playing in South Africa as their home ground due to unfit stadiums in the country.



Head to head

Namibia’s only previous match against Equatorial Guinea, in June last year, saw them being awarded a 3-0 win after Guinea used an ineligible player. Even though their nation’s record goal-scorer Emilio Nsue scored the only goal of the match in Malabo, he was handed a six-month ban which has since been served.

Nsue, now 35, was officially cleared to play for the country by Fifa earlier this month – more than a decade after the former Spain youth international made his senior debut for the African nation.

On Monday, Namibia and Equatorial Guinea meet for the second time in history, with the Central Africans attempting to spoil the party for the second-placed team in the pool.

Equatorial Guinea only has six points to show from the matches they have played so far, after they were forced to forfeit two matches due to the use of an ineligible player.

Last Friday, Equatorial Guinea defeated minnows São Tomé and Principe 2-0 in Malabo, thanks to early strikes by their returning talisman Emilio Nsue (14 minutes) and Ivan Salvador (17 minutes).

A win for Namibia today will place them temporarily on top of the group with 14 points, given that Tunisia that are top will only play at 23:00 (Namibian time), while the Brave Warriors’ match is slated for a 15:00 kick-off.

The Tunisians will be home to Malawi in a match they are expected to win.



Road to the World Cup

The top team in each group will automatically qualify for the 48-nation 2026 World Cup finals, being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the USA.

The four highest second-placed teams will have a chance via the play-offs, and with such a healthy haul already, Namibia would be among the favourites to book one of those berths.

At the halfway stage of their qualifying campaign, Namibia have made an excellent start, having taken 11 points from a possible 15, showing seven in the goals column while conceding just one.

After today, Namibia’s remaining fixtures are in September (two home matches against Malawi and São Tomé and Príncipe) and October (two away matches against Liberia and Tunisia).



Stay grounded

Namibia have never qualified for the World Cup, but have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations four times, reaching the knockout stages at their last Afcon in Ivory Coast in 2024.

Coach Collin Benjamin urged his players to stay grounded ahead of today’s encounter, but said they are dreaming of a World Cup place.

“To have dreams is valid, it keeps you on target to keep on working but we are really not looking at the table standings right now. It’s just good to be able to win and gain the much-needed confidence boost, especially after last year’s AFCON campaign.

“I think we started well in the first half (against Malawi), but we lost the intensity and drive due to the long balls that Malawi was playing.

“They played exceptionally well and gave us a good match; it was a physical and direct game. I’m proud of the boys for withstanding that pressure, we take the three points and go back to the drawing board for the next match.”

Benjamin admits his side have room to improve, but there are promising signs for the future.

“The aim is to grow and gradually develop more players, we had one player (Bonifasius Josef) who made his debut for the Braves and that is what we are looking at.”