Top duo out of Warriors' trip

The Brave Warriors will leave for the 2015 CAF African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers match against Congo tomorrow without two very important players. Striker Henrico Botes and midfielder Lazarus Kaimbi withdrew from the crucial second leg, which is set to take place on Sunday in Pointe-Noire. The Warriors, who lead the two-legged qualifier match by 1-0 after a Rudolph Bester goal in Windhoek a fortnight ago, had veteran striker Botes included in their preparations for the second leg. But the Platinum Stars striker is not fit enough to be considered for selection and has thus opted not to honour the call-up. Thailand-based Lazarus Kaimbi will also not be available for selection after his club declined to release him for the return leg, citing a busy league schedule. While Kaimbi was playing in the first leg in Windhoek, his club, Bangkok Glass, won a cup match before drawing a league match and the club indicated that they needed the Namibian as they were due to play on Wednesday. This is in addition to another match set for Sunday and one set for next Wednesday in the Thai League. Tangeni Shipahu of Osotspa in Thailand is expected to meet up with the rest of the squad in Congo if he makes the final 18-player list for the encounter. The Warriors will seemingly have similar obstacles in the next round of qualifiers if they manage to overcome Congo during this round of the preliminary qualifiers. FIFA confirmed clubs do not have to release players because the dates of the preliminary matches fall outside of football’s governing body's calendar for international matches. Should the team then reach the next preliminary qualifying round; the Brave Warriors will again likely be hit by clubs’ refusal to release some players. Meanwhile, the Brave Warriors technical team on Wednesday released two goalkeepers - Orlando Pirates’ Charles Uirab and Civics’ Edward Maova. This means the rejuvenated pair of Virgil Vries and Maxi Mbaeva will vie for the starting place in Congo. The final travelling 18-man squad is expected to be announced today. The travelling party will be chosen from the following 20 players who are up for consideration: Warriors squad: Goalkeepers: Maxi Mbaeva (African Stars) and Virgil Vries (Maritzburg United, SA). Defenders: Willem Mwedihanga (AmaZulu SA), Denzil Haoseb (Black Africa), Da Costa Angula, Emilio Martin (both Black Africa FC), Freedom Puriza and Dennis Tjetjinda (both African Stars). Midfielders: Ronald Ketjijere (c) (University of Pretoria), Ananias Gebhardt, Willy Stephanus (both Black Africa), Hendrik Somaeb (Blue Waters), Neville Tjiueza (Tura Magic), Petrus Shitembi (AmaZulu, SA), Heinrich Isaacks (Maritzburg United, SA), and Wangu Gomes (Civics). Strikers: Nekundi Panduleni (Tigers FC), Rudolf Bester (Golden Arrows, SA), Tangeni Shipahu (Osotspa, Thailand) and Jerome Louis (Township Rollers Botswana).