Namibia’s Shalulile on 2022 hopes: You never know

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday Sep 08, 2021. 11:00

Namibia striker Peter Shalulile has revealed his belief in the national team’s ability to reach the final stage of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

The Brave Warriors got their Group H campaign off to a fine start this past week by holding Congo to a 1-1 draw in Soweto on Thursday 2 September, before a 1-0 away win over Togo in Lome on Sunday 5 September.

Though Senegal remain the favourites to end top of the log and advance into the final playoff round, Shalulile says Namibia have earned the right to dream after picking up a solid haul of four points thus far.

“We believe in the coach, and if the coach believes in the players, it’s possible. As for the future, only God knows where we’ll end up,” said Shalulile, as quoted by the Namibian.

He added, “You might see us in the World Cup. You never know how things will turn out.”

Head coach Bobby Samaria, meanwhile, was more circumspect about Namibia’s chances on the road to Qatar 2022.

“As a team, you need to believe in yourself, and self belief starts with confidence. But you must make sure that you don’t become arrogant,” Samaria explained.

On his team’s performance against Togo, he added: “We respected the opponent but we did not give them too much room to play.

“I think the goalkeepers of both teams did exceptionally well. They are the difference in the result.

“We created very good chances, which were denied. They equally created good chances that they could not convert. I think the result says it all, it’s a fair and true reflection of the game.”

Namibia will return to Group H action with back-to-back matches against Senegal in October.