Cosafa draw excites Rukoro
Namibia Football Association (NFA) secretary-general Barry Rukoro yesterday said that he is happy that the Cosafa tournament has pitted the Brave Warriors against Lesotho.
The 2015 champions will play Lesotho on Saturday in the 2017 Cosafa Castle Cup quarterfinals at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa.
“Given our financial setbacks and the inactivity of our domestic league, we could have not wished for a better draw than this one.
“Thanks to our previous exploits, we are ranked better and that saves us a lot of playing time and only training and training to be ready and fresh to face Lesotho,” Rukoro said.
He further expressed confidence that the national team has what it takes to get past Lesotho and into the semi-finals.
“It will be the first game for both countries and that is equal footing and we should be able to negotiate our way past Lesotho.”
Having overseen the Brave Warriors take on neighbours Botswana in plenty of memorable clashes over the years, Rukoro is still reeling from the 2016 Cosafa Castle Cup quarterfinal penalty shoot-out defeat to the Zebras and wants revenge in South Africa.
“We still have some unfinished business and I hope the team progresses in order to meet Botswana somewhere to settle our score,” said Rukoro.
In 2016, host Namibia lost 4-5 on penalties to Botswana after a 1-1 draw.
The Brave Warriors head coach Ricardo Mannetti is expected to announce the team today.
Sport Reporter
The 2015 champions will play Lesotho on Saturday in the 2017 Cosafa Castle Cup quarterfinals at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa.
“Given our financial setbacks and the inactivity of our domestic league, we could have not wished for a better draw than this one.
“Thanks to our previous exploits, we are ranked better and that saves us a lot of playing time and only training and training to be ready and fresh to face Lesotho,” Rukoro said.
He further expressed confidence that the national team has what it takes to get past Lesotho and into the semi-finals.
“It will be the first game for both countries and that is equal footing and we should be able to negotiate our way past Lesotho.”
Having overseen the Brave Warriors take on neighbours Botswana in plenty of memorable clashes over the years, Rukoro is still reeling from the 2016 Cosafa Castle Cup quarterfinal penalty shoot-out defeat to the Zebras and wants revenge in South Africa.
“We still have some unfinished business and I hope the team progresses in order to meet Botswana somewhere to settle our score,” said Rukoro.
In 2016, host Namibia lost 4-5 on penalties to Botswana after a 1-1 draw.
The Brave Warriors head coach Ricardo Mannetti is expected to announce the team today.
Sport Reporter
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