Warriors take stock of Cosafa test

Namibia and Botswana both intend to channel the disappointment of their Cosafa Cup campaigns to fuel aspirations in the upcoming African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers and beyond.
The neighbours shared a point in their concluding Group A clash on Tuesday night, playing out an uninspiring goalless stalemate with much changed lineups.
Last year’s beaten finalist Namibia finished bottom of the pool on two points, while Botswana placed second with four points behind hosts South Africa (7), who won the group and proceeded to Friday’s semifinals after a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Eswatini (3).
Brave Warriors coach Collin Benjamin was less scathing of his charges’ performance following Tuesday’s match. However, he rued the missed chances to bring victory and finish their campaign on a high.
“We started off well, and created a few chances. If we had taken our chances, it would probably have been 3-0 during halftime,” Benjamin told reporters after the match at Durban’s iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Benjamin made five changes to his starting lineup, refreshing the side with youngsters who looked lively but lacked a cutting edge. Kamaijanda Ndisiro came in for the nervous Eward Maova in goals, with Ngero Katua, Devin Somseb and Edmar Kamatuka starting ahead of captain Dynamo Fredericks, Marcel Papama and Absalom Iimbondi in midfield. Up front, Junior Petrus got his first Brave Warriors start, replacing Elmo Kambindu.
“We won on experience. But obviously another tough lesson to not have scored or left with three points. Nonetheless we take that experience and we try to move forward,” said Benjamin. 
“Towards the end, Botswana had a few chances as well so it could have gone either way. I still think if we were clinical, we could have taken the three points.”
Despite not getting the desired match results, Benjamin has seen improvements in some of the players’ football comprehension.
“The conversion of chances and keeping it tight at the back were basically our headaches in the tournament and these are things that we’re going to keep working towards. It is not things that come overnight. We have a plan with these young guys to have them play at least 10 international matches and then we can start demanding from them,” the Namibia coach assessed.
He believes that the team will be much improved in 12 months time if they get consistent game time. Other than the Chan qualifiers, the Brave Warriors have to negotiate 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers and potentially play at the Africa Cup of Nations early next year.
“Unfortunately, we’re not in a position to have friendly matches like some other countries. So, we have to prepare for competition and at the same time try to make the pool bigger,” Benjamin explained. 

He said the team will continue to get younger, with some of the ineffective older players facing the axe for upcoming assignments.
“We’re not as fortunate as other countries where they have many players at a good level to choose from. So, that makes that process a bit difficult. That’s why I’m saying that it’s only through games we can identify and give these players exposure,” Benianmin said of the team’s transition.
“We have to grow this team, they have to get experience. I’m sure come next year this time, these same boys will have more than ten games under their belt and it will be a different kind of ball game.”
Like his Namibian counterpart, Botswana coach Mogomotsi Mpote had earmarked a spot in the last four to prolong his young squad’s education at the tournament.
“I would say it’s not enough, I wanted to go further for these young boys to play many games. There are positives and negatives to take back home,” he said. 

“Cosafa gives us this platform to groom these young boys. It’s good for us. In future we’ll have a bigger pool of players to pick from.”
Botswana started the tournament with a win over Eswatini before a loss to South Africa and the stalemate against Namibia derailed their momentum.
They particularly found the going tough against the Brave Warriors on Tuesday, especially in the opening half. 
“In the first 45 minutes, the Namibians were on the front foot. We managed to hold on, and we brought on other boys who managed to change the game for us. But, in the end we could not find the goal and we have to share the points,” Mpote said. 

“Last year, we went as far as the plate final, this time around we did not get out of the group. The positives are that you’ll have players prepared for Chan and other matches where we will mix these youngsters with more experienced players.”