Brave Warriors to face Zambia in Cosafa

WINDHOEK, 19 Apr– Brave Warriors have been drawn against Zambia in the 2018 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) in a draw conducted in Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon.
Media releases availed to Nampa by the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and Cosafa indicate that Namibia will face Zambia for the second time this year, after they played and drew 1-1 in the 2018 African Nations Championship.
The two teams will meet again in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in September in Zambia.
Speaking to the NFA website, Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti said Namibia has been the better of the two sides in the last five meetings and he hoped that will continue.
“We played Zambia at the quarterfinals stage in 2015 when we went on to win our first Cosafa title. We also beat them in 2016 in the Plate final at home and we recently met at the CHAN finals in Morocco and played [to] a draw,” he said, adding that the two teams know each other very well.
Meanwhile, Cosafa, in its media statement said the 18th edition of the cup will make history as it will be comprised of all 14 member states for the first time.
Defending champions Zimbabwe will play the winner of Group B in the quarterfinals, which includes Angola, Botswana, Mauritius and Malawi.
South Africa will take on the winner of Group A, which contains Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros Islands and Seychelles.
The other quarterfinals will see Namibia and Zambia facing off while Swaziland play neighbours Lesotho.
The tournament will be staged in South Africa’s Limpopo Province from 27 May to 09 June.
Cosafa Executive Committee member for Competitions, Timothy Shongwe said the tournament provides not only an opportunity to celebrate the excellence of Southern African football, but also gives players, coaches and referees the chance to hone their skills in an international format.
NAMPA