Mannetti announces provisional AFCON squad

WINDHOEK, 17 JUL  – Brave Warriors head coach, Ricardo Mannetti has called up a provisional squad of 29 players who will start training in preparation for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia in Windhoek in September.
Announcing the squad at a media conference in Windhoek on Tuesday, Mannetti said they will train at the Namibia Football Association’s technical centre twice a day, that is in the mornings and afternoons.
“We decided to set up a training exercise for the national team because the Zambian league is currently midway while ours is off. Our players have not played football for the past three to four months,” he explained.
Mannetti added that they decided to have a six-week ‘pre-season’ training camp, starting from next month, for the local-based players so as to match the opponents.
The coach explained that they were also looking at arranging a friendly match for the team, despite the fact that there are no International Federation of Association Football dates available until September.
He added that Namibia has played Zambia twice this year already and he was aware of how good the opponents are.
The coach said when he called up the players for this camp, he went for the tried and tested, because the game against Zambia is a do or die game in the quest to qualify for AFCON 2019 after losing the first match 1-0 away to Guinea Bissau.
The other team in the group is Mozambique.
Mannetti said he called up six under-23 (U-23) players as a way of getting them used to high-intensity training, getting used to the tempo, and playing against better players than them.
This will prepare them for the Olympic qualifiers which will kick off after the Namibia-Zambia game.
Mannetti took time to explain that he still has to include foreign-based players at the latter stages of the preparations.

Below are the players called up for the training camp;
Edward Maova (Civics); Abel Paulus (Life Fighters ;U-23); Ratanda Mbazuvara, Panduleni Nekundi and Ronald Ketjijere (African Stars); Donovan Kanjaa and Ikuaterua Hoveka (Young African); Ferdinand Karongee, Gustav Isaak, Benyamen Nenkavu and Absalom Iimbondi (Tigers); Tusha Erasmus Ikeinge (Khomas NamPol); Larry Horaeb (Unattached); Edmund Kambanda, Marcel Papama and Muna Katupose (UNAM); Emilio Martin, Vitapi Ngaruka, Immanuel Heita and Dynamo Fredericks (Black Africa); McCartney Nawaseb (Black Africa U-23); Petrus Kamati (Pescanova ;U-23); Pinehas Willem (Eleven Arrows); Lubeni Haukongo and Aprocius Petrus (Eleven Arrows ;U-23); Petrus Shitembi and Itamunua Keimuine (Tura Magic); Hiha Katjivena (Tura Magic ;U-23); Hendrick Somaeb (Unattached)
(NAMPA)