Brave Warriors seek to tame the Lions of Teranga

The Namibian football team, the Brave Warriors will have to face the ‘Lions of Teranga’ Senegal, Niger and Burundi for them to qualify for the 2017 AFCON finals to be held in Gabon.

Announced on Wednesday, the Brave Warriors were placed in Group H of the 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti reckons the draw for the 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers are fair given the quality of the opposition.
“I think the draw is quite okay. You will get a powerhouse and we got Senegal in our group and Niger and Burundi are not to be taken lightly as well.
“So it is football and you deal with what you have.”
Mannetti added that Senegal will be the group favourites but the Brave Warriors will be ready to make their mark during the qualifiers.
“We have to respect Senegal as they are a force in African football but on the pitch it will be equal and whoever is better prepared and hungrier for a win than the other will take it. Playing them will be extra motivation for the players and we will be at our possible best.”
On Niger and Burundi, Mannetti states that those games will be equally important.
“We won’t fear anyone in this group and so facing Niger and Burundi will be crucial for us to get all the points we can get home or away. We need to have all our best players at that time available and ready to fight for our place in Gabon next year,” said Mannetti. Qualifying for 2017 will begin in June with 52 of Caf’s 54 member countries listed to take part.
Only Somalia and Eritrea did not enter the qualifiers.
The other groups are as follows:
Group A: Tunisia, Togo, Liberia, Djibouti
Group B: DR Congo, Angola, Central African Republic, Madagascar
Group C: Mali, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, South Sudan
Group D: Burkina Faso, Uganda, Botswana, Comoros
Group E: Zambia, Congo, Kenya, Guinea Bissau
Group F: Cape Verde, Morocco, Libya, Sao Tome
Group G: Nigeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Chad
Group H: Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Mauritius
Group I: Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Gabon
Group J: Algeria, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Seychelles
Group L: Guinea, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Swaziland
Group M: Cameroon, South Africa, Gambia, Mauritania