Sammy Kitula
2 September 2008
Nairobi — Namibia have a tall order in the current stretch of the 2010 World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers.
For the Brave Warriors to qualify for the next stage, they must beat Kenya on Saturday and hope that other teams stumble.
New coach Tom Saintfiet, a 35-year-old Belgian, led the team that arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday.
Namibia's only victory in the campaign so far came from a 2-1 home win over Kenya on May 31. Since then, they have suffered defeats against Zimbabwe and Guinea (twice) and are bottom of the group.
"We don't want to write off the Namibians, but I can assure you that come Saturday, we will make amends for our away loss in May," said Harambee Stars team manager, Peter Serry.
Just like their Kenyan opponents who have been in camp for a week, the Namibians have been training at Khomasdal field since August 25.
While naming his final team, Saintfiet banked on professionals, leaving out all locally-based players.
Among the notable changes was the recalling of Jomo Cosmos' goalkeeper Abisai Shaningayamwe and dropping of Warriors' wingers Sydney Plaatjies and Levy Swartbooi.
Also making a comeback to the team is Collin Benjamin who turns out for Hamburg SV, after overcoming a series of injuries that have been plaguing him.
But perhaps the most notable absentee from the 18-member squad is former captain Michael Pienaar.
Saintfiet was appointed as the new Brave Warriors coach following the departure of Arie Schans in July due to the team's dismal performances.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
