Brave Warriors in high spirits

MARRAKECH – The belief is growing that the Brave Warriors can make a real impression on the 2018 African Nations Championships in Morocco.

On Monday, the day after their historic 1-0 triumph over Ivory Coast, the fringe players were taken through their paces at the Stade Marrakech by head coach Ricardo Mannetti while the starters worked out in the gym at their hotel.

Mannetti has been at pains to manage expectations following an impressive debut showing, in which the Brave Warriors shut-out their more fancied rivals who managed one shot on target in the entire match.

That tactical discipline and tenacity is needed in Thursday’s encounter against Uganda, who went down 3-1 to Zambia and are currently bottom of Group B.

“I can see they are starting to believe in their ability. The confidence is high after winning the opening match against Ivory Coast. What we are working on is the players’ focus. They need to play with the same intensity and desire from the first match against Uganda,” Mannetti told The Namibian Sport.

Brave Warriors legend Congo Hindjou, who accompanied the team to Morocco, also believes the team can reach the knockout stages if they maintain their professionalism.

“I think they can go far. We have a very good team. I was very impressed with how they played against Ivory Coast. They showed character and stuck to the game plan. So, I hope they take the same attitude into the matches against Uganda and Zambia to ensure that they get to the quarter-finals,” Hindjou said.

On Tuesday the team enjoyed a relaxing morning excursion on the golf course at their Hotel du Golf base and were due to return to training at the match venue in the afternoon.

The weather remains chilly but the team remains in high spirits and is looking forward to attaining their goal.

“You don’t want go to into your final game with so much pressure and thus we need to start all over against Uganda to keep our dream of reaching the quarterfinals alive. That remains the objective and we can and should be able to control that. Thursday will be the most important game of our team,” Ketjijere said.

Meanwhile, in Monday’s Group C action, Nigeria and Rwanda played to a goalless draw, while Libya kicked off with a resounding 3-0 win over Equatorial Guinea to go top of the group.

Saleh Taher scored a first half double with substitute Zakaria Alharash adding a third just before full-time to cap a perfect start for the 2014 champions.

The action returns to Group A in Casablanca on Wednesday night, with Morocco taking on Guinea at 18h30 while Sudan take on Mauritania at 21h30.

Morocco hammered Mauritania 4-0 in the tournament opener and Sudan surprised Guinea 2-1 on Sunday. Victory for Morocco and Sudan will put them both through to the last eight.