Brave Warriors prepare for upcoming Eritrea tie slated for next week
Brave Warriors interim coach Bobby Samaria recently named a provisional 36 men squad ahead of the Eritrea tie in the 2022 Federation of International Football Federations (FIFA) World Cup qualifiers with the first leg away on 4 September and the second leg at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek on 10 September.
Samaria who had guided the local-based Brave Warriors to a second round win over Comoros Island in the 2020 CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers will continue to be in charge until further notice or when the substantive coach is found for the Brave Warriors.
“The professional players will arrive from 29 August and Peter Shalulile will the last one to join us the day we leave on 1 September to go and do the job away from home,” said Samaria.
Interim coach Samaria also explained the absence of some key players from the training squad.
“The two European-based players, I have spoken to Ryan Nyambe and Manfred Starke and we agreed that for now they fight for places at their respective clubs and later on we consider them. Riaan Hanamub, our thought and prayers are with him as he lost his mother and sister in a car accident this weekend and we also agreed with him to leave him out for now,”Samaria said.
He added that the team has about 11 local-based players because after the Eritrea clash, the local-based Warriors will take on Madagascar in the final round of the CHAN qualifiers.
“We need to keep the guys active and hence this balanced and big team. We will be going with 23 players to Eritrea and so we will ahead good fight for places and that can only make things a little bit easier for the technical team in terms of the importance of all four both games”, Samaria states.
Meanwhile the local based players training started on Monday at the NFA Technical Centre while the foreign based players will report from 29 August.
The team of 23 players will depart on 1 September to Asmara, Eritrea and the match will take place on 4 September, with return match on 10 September at 19h00 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium.
The 37 players called up: Virgil Vries (Unattached), Loydt Kazapua (Baroka FC, SA), Junias Theophilus and Larry Horaeb ( Tura Magic), Aprocious Petrus (Eleven Arrows),Charles Uirab (UNAM), Ratanda Mbazuvara, Ivan Kamberipa, Obrey Amseb, Marcel Papama and Gustav Isaak (all African Stars), Dynamo Fredericks, Vitapi Ngaruka, Emilio Martin, McCartney Naweseb, Immanuel Heita, Wendell Rudath and Kamaijanda Ndisiro ( all Black Africa), Mapenzi Muwanei, Llewelyn Stanley and Absalom Iimbondi ( all Tigers), Isaskar Gurirab (Life Fighters), Elmo Kambindu (Mighty Gunners) Panduleni Nekundi, (Unattached), Gregory Aukumeb (Blue Waters), Willy Stephanus and Petrus Shitembi ( Lusaka Dynamos, Zambia), Denzil Haoseb ( Unattached), Peter Shalulile ( Highlands Park, SA) Chris Katjiukua ( Black Leopards, SA), Calvin Spiegel (Okahandja United), Benson Shilongo ( Ismaily, Egypt), Hendrik Somaeb (Unattached), Deon Hotto (Bidvest Wits, SA) , Joslin Kamatuka, and Teberius Lombard (Zanaco, Zambia).
