Jacobs takes Gladiators to Cosafa 

Woody Jacobs finalised his Brave Gladiators squad for the Cosafa Cup yesterday before leaving for the Cosafa Women’s Championships in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Crucially, star player Zenatha Coleman forms part of the 20-players squad after initially not being named in the preliminary team.

Namibia face South Africa, Seychelles and Eswatini in the group phase, with their opening match against the host nation tomorrow.

The bulk of the squad comes from national champions Ongos Ladies who beat Julinho Athletic Football Club to claim the final Hage Geingob Cup in Windhoek on Saturday.

Jacobs says it is crucial for the Gladiators to get a positive result against South Africa’s Banyana Banyana if they are to realise their ambition of progressing to the knock out stages of tournament.

“I think they’re ready to go and compete,” Jacobs said.

He roped in former under-17 national team coach Christy Guruseb as his assistant in place of the unavailable Mamie Kasaona, who is completing her CAF B diploma in Tanzania.

“The mood and the spirit in the camp is good. I want to take it a step further and say that we want to go and win it, or at least try and win it,” Jacobs said of his side’s ambition.

Banyana Banyana will field a second-string team with the full squad set for a series of friendlies in Europe as they tune up for the defence of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title.

“Anybody that puts on a South African jersey, in my view, is a South African. And we want to beat them. So, I believe that Tuesday’s match is the watershed game.

“Watershed in the sense that we want to top the group and in order to win the group, we must beat South Africa, which I think is the stronger of the other two opponents.

“Not to dismiss them or drool them, but South Africa we need to beat,” Jacobs explained.

“So if we want to go to the semifinals, we need to beat South Africa. And that will happen on Tuesday. And we’ll be geared up for that one by all means.”

In the Brave Gladiators squad are:

Goalkeepers – Agnes Kauzuu and Melissa Mateus;

Defenders – Mbakondja Kahiriri, Lydiana Nanamus, Iina Katuta, Emma Naris, Lovisa Mulunga; Julia Rutjindo, Ivone Kooper, Twelinkodjele Amukoto;

Midfielder – Asteria Angula, Memory Ngonga, Millicent Hikuam, Kylie van Wyk, Shanice Daries, Anna-Ida Somses, Juliana Blou;

Forwards – Anna-Marie Shikusho, Fiola Vliete and Zenatha Coleman.