THE Brave Gladiators will be in action for the first time in nearly two years when they host Angola in two friendlies at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, today and on Saturday.
The last time they were in action was at the Cosafa Cup in South Africa in August 2019, when they set a national football record by beating Mauritius 8-0, with star striker Zenatha Coleman scoring four goals.
They, however, suffered narrow defeats in their other two matches, going down 1-0 to Botswana and 3-2 to Zambia, and failed to make the knockout stages of the tournament.
Angola didn’t fare too well at that championship either, as they also failed to make the knockout stages after finishing third in their group. They lost 4-1 to Zimbabwe and 4-0 to eSwatini, but managed to beat Mozambique 3-1.
Angola, however, hold the edge over Namibia in recent months as they managed to compete at the 2020 Cosafa Championships in November last year, when the Brave Gladiators could not compete due to financial constraints.
Then Angola did a bit better, finishing second in their group after beating eSwatini 4-3, drawing 1-1 to Comoros, and losing 2-0 to the eventual champions South Africa.
They, however, once again failed to reach the knockout stages as only the group winners went through.
In his initial training group, Brave Gladiators coach Robert Nauseb called up several young players who impressed during the Women’s Super Cup earlier this year, but he has gone for most of his experienced players in his final squad of 23 players.
Coleman, who now plays for Spanish Premier League club Sevilla, arrived in Windhoek yesterday for the match and despite not training with the squad, Nauseb said she would be ready for the match.
“Zenatha arrived yesterday, but there’s no point in asking her to attend training when she’s just stepped off the plane, so I just told her to put her feet up and rest. She is a top professional and will adapt quickly to the situation,” he said.
Most of his other experienced players have also been called up, with the only exception being midfielder Elmarie Fredericks, who is injured.
Ëlmarie picked up a hamstring injury so she’s not available, but we have important matches coming up later in June, so we want her to be ready then,” he said.
He added that the newcomers who didn’t make the final squad will still have more chances to impress later this year.
“We have selected a pool of 60 players and we will even enlarge that group, because we will still travel around the country to look for new talent. Hopefully we will still have a lot of football this year with the Afcon qualifiers and the Cosafa Cup coming up,” he said.
On paper, there is not much difference between the two nations, with Angola ranked 114th in the world and 16th in Africa, while Namibia is ranked 129th in the world and 20th in Africa. Nauseb said he expected a tough encounter.
“We watched their matches at last year’s Cosafa Cup and they are not a bad side. They conceded several goals, but they also scored a few, so they won’t be easy opponents, but we are excited and looking forward to the game,” he said.
The match starts at 15h00 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, but spectators will not be allowed to attend due to Covid-19 regulations.
The Namibian squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Mellissa Matheus, Agnes Kauzuu, Lydia Eixas.
Defenders: Emma Naris, Veronika van Wyk, Selma Enkali, Lovisa Mulunga, Kamunikire Tjituka, Lydiana Nanamus, Iina Katuta.
Midfielders: Milicent Hikuam, Thomalina Adams, Asteria Angula, Meltret Ujamba, Ivone Kooper, Annouschka Kordom.
Strikers: Beverly Ueziua, Fiola Vliete, Memory Ngonda, Anna-Marie Shikusho, Precious Hambira, Zenatha Coleman, Juliana Blou.