Mannetti eyeing 2019 AFCON ticket

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Thursday Apr 06, 2017. 09:00

Namibian national team coach Ricardo Mannetti says he wants to work hard as they want to reach the 2019 CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

The coach has already begun preparations for the AFCON qualifiers set to start in June, emphasising the importance of character and mentality.

Mannetti announced his squad of 24 players last week preparing for international games lined up in June and July, two months ahead as he embarks upon his mandate of reaching the Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2019.

“We have the objective of reaching the finals in 2019 and we need to prepare well for that. Playing Guinea Bissau won’t be easy in June because they were just at the AFCON and I saw them play South Africa last week and they have active players at the moment,” said Mannetti.

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“But they are beatable and we really need to work and work hard for us to make this dream a reality, hence staring now with preparations.

“We need players with character and the right mentality for international football. I have invited these players based on my experiences with them and also those that have shown promise and we need to see if they can make it.

“After that we had the COSAFA cup in South Africa from 25 June and we take that seriously as well.

"Before that the league could have kicked off and still the scouting continues until we get to COSAFA so we have a lot of hard work ahead if we want to success in this year.”

The Brave Warriors are in Group K with Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and will get their qualifiers campaign underway against the Djurtus in June.