Namibia national team head coach Collin Benjamin has made an honest admission regarding the absence of marksman Peter Shalulile against Bafana Bafana.
The Brave Warriors played to a 0-0 draw against their South African counterparts in an international friendly at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Mamelodi Sundowns striker was a notable absentee for his country as he is still nursing an injury. He came out in the 73rd minute when Masandawana beat Golden Arrows 4-0 on 15 August at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. The 29-year-old suffered a hamstring injury.
NAMIBIA COACH ADMITS PETER SHALULILE COULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE
Early in the game, Benjamin’s side found itself frustrated, losing too many chances, which could have probably made a huge difference in the outcome of the game.
Despite Benjamin being proud of Namibian’s display against Bafana, he believes should Shalulile have been part of the match day’s squad, something better could have happened.
“If I say that, we created three chances that everybody saw. And it was really normal 100% chances,” Benjamin told the media in a post-match press conference.
PETER SHALULILE’S ABSENCE FELT
“Obviously, if you have a player or striker of his quality, you know that one is definitely going to go in. So you can’t really, really replace that; we find it difficult to replace him.
“But this is the opportunity the young ones have to take, and they can learn from this kind of match. They would definitely know that, okay, I go through this side, not this side, so that the goal can come.”
Namibia will return to action in November when they take on Equatorial Guinea in the World Cup qualifier match. They are in Group H alongside Liberia, Malawi, Tunisia and São Tomé and Príncipe.
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