Namibia coach reveals burning desire driving the Brave Warriors
Namibia coach Collin Benjamin has revealed the burning desire driving his Brave Warriors at the 2023 AFCON tournament despite the ‘minnows’ tag.
The Brave Warriors, captained by Mamelodi Sundowns sharp-shooter Peter Shalulile, produced a major upset when they beat Tunisia 1-0 on Tuesday.
Orlando Pirates star Deon Hotto scored an 88th-minute header that earned Namibia their first-ever win in the tournament – AFCON.
Ranked 115th on the FIFA standings, Namibia had been without a win in any of their previous nine AFCON matches. And beating Tunisia, the 2004 champions, was undoubtedly very hard to imagine because of their track record.
But they bravely fought for recognition to bring Tunisia’s five-match run of clean sheets to a screaming halt.
COACH COLLIN BENJAMIN ON WHAT IS SPURRING PETER SHALULILE AND HIS TEAMMATES
While they still have two more group matches to play, Namibia coach Collin Benjamin outlined what is spurring his underrated team.
“This is huge for Namibia. Namibia has always been getting beatings; us as a country, we get beaten politically, economically and in a lot of spheres,” he said. “So what these Brave Warriors did was to bring some restoration in Namibia as a country. We are all proud.
“They had hunger, and for some of them, this is the last AFCON. So they will go into the history books of Namibia as heroes, as Brave Warriors, for their efforts in this tournament.
“Those are the things that drive them. We are really proud. It’s a proud moment to be Namibian. We fought a good fight,” added Benjamin.
The historic win means Namibia are second in Group E on goal difference following Mali’s 2-0 win over Bafana Bafana
Namibia will now prepare to meet Hugo Broos and his Bafana troops on Sunday in a Southern region derby in their second group stages encounter of the 2023 AFCON, hosted in Ivory Coast.
In the other Group E match, Mali and Tunisia will lock horns, fighting for maximum points.
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