Namibia soccer team in Kenya for WC/CAN qualifier against hosts
4/9/2008 17:52
Namibia's national soccer team has arrived in the country for the 2010
World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Kenya on
Saturday.
The Brace Warriors squad includes close to 10 South African-based
players as well as Germany-based duo of Collin Benjamin and Oliver Risser who
play for Hamburg Sv and Eintracht FC respectively.
With Risser, who scored
the first goal against Kenya in the first qualifier in Windhoek on May 31,
Attiel Mbaha, Richard Gariseb, Quinton Jacobs and Lazarus Kaimbi are the only
five survivors of the triumphant squad over Kenya.
The 18-man Namibia squad
held its first training session yesterday ahead of the crucial qualifier against
Harambee Stars.
New coach of the Brave Warriors Tom Saintfiet expressed
optimism his team will emerge victorious on Saturday since Stars dependable
striker, DennisOliech will not be playing.
"I have gone through the tapes of
both matches and it appears that Kenya's main player is Dennis Oliech. We will
see how Stars play without him," said Saintfiet who watched Kenya's previous
matches against Guinea and Zimbabwe.
The France-based AJ Auxerre striker is
suspended for Saturday's match after picking a second yellow card in June
against Zimbabwe in Harare. His first yellow card was against Guinea in
Nairobi.
The German second division side Eintracht FC striker, Risser,
predicted a tough game, considering they are away. "Kenya will enjoy a home
advantage and will also want to cancel out the first leg loss," he
said.
Risser remembers Oliech's contribution and singled him out as having
been the best player during that tie. He said they have not given up on
qualifying and will try to get a good result.
Saintfiet himself is one of the
several changes in the squad having replaced fired Arie Schans, the coach who
led the Brave Warriors over Kenya in Nairobi.
Saintfiet has however left out
Costa Kaiseb who scored an 89th minute goal that sunk and embarrassed Kenya in
that game that ended 2-1.
Since beating Kenya, Namibia has gone three games
without a win after losing the next three games to Zimbabwe (twice) and to
Guinea.
Kenya on the other hand has neither lost nor conceded a goal since
jetting out of Windhoek.
Kenya beat both Guinea and Zimbabwe with identical
2-0 wins and drew 0-0 with Zimbabwe in the last game.
Kenya is second in
Group 2 tied with Guinea on seven points while Namibia is rock bottom at fourth
with three points. Zimbabwe are third on five points.
Xinhua
|
