Under-23s off to China
Namibia's under-23 team will take on China in two friendly matches, which will serve to sharpen their skills ahead of the battle to qualify for the 2019 continental showpiece in Egypt.
The national under-23 national football team departed for their week-long tour of China on Friday afternoon, ahead of their two friendly matches against their counterparts.
The matches are scheduled for on 4 and 7 June and are part of the team's preparations for continental and Olympic qualification.
With the 2019 African under-23 finals qualifying draw still to be conducted, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) agreed to an invite to China to partake in preparatory games against their Far East friends.
“The draw is still to be conducted and we have to be ready for anything and hence the importance of this training camp in China. We are grateful for this invite and the boys have been hard at work on the field going through the drills, so that they can leave a mark in China.
“It will be a learning tour as well and surely the team will enjoy it and play to find the right combinations and see what can work for us before the real business,” said Timo Tjongarero, head coach of the team.
He adds that the boys want to make a mark for the 2020 qualifiers.
“In recent years, we won Cosafa at senior and u-17 level and also reached the Chan final quarter-finals.
This crop of players want to add to those achievements by writing their own history and at least qualifying for the tournament in Egypt after the continental qualifiers,” explained Tjongarero.
Of the many friendly games the team has played thus far, the notable one was on 19 May, when they defeated the Tertiary Institutes Sports Association of Namibia football (Tisan) team 1-0 thanks to a goal by Israel Shikongo.
Namibia has to start preparations for their Olympic dream by negotiating past their continental hopefuls, with seven spots available for the eight-team 2019 African tournament to be held in Egypt by November or December 2019.
The tournament, which will be played in Egypt, will see the top three teams qualifying automatically for the Olympic Games.
The fourth-placed finisher plays in a play-off against a team from the Asian Football Confederation. Nigeria is the defending champions.
The following 20 players travelled to China:
Wisely Kauua, Baloyi Tsandib, Petrus Kamati, Aprocius Petrus, Paulus Abel, Uetuuru Kambato, Giovanni Nauseb, Pandeni Kandjabanga, Israel Shikongo, Hubert Mingeri, Romeo Kasume, Anthony Kham, Romario Hawiseb, Lubeni Haukongo, Calvin Spiegel, Rivaldo Festus, Kennedy //Eib, Brandon Neibeb, McCartney Naweseb and Hiha Katjivena.
NFA
The matches are scheduled for on 4 and 7 June and are part of the team's preparations for continental and Olympic qualification.
With the 2019 African under-23 finals qualifying draw still to be conducted, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) agreed to an invite to China to partake in preparatory games against their Far East friends.
“The draw is still to be conducted and we have to be ready for anything and hence the importance of this training camp in China. We are grateful for this invite and the boys have been hard at work on the field going through the drills, so that they can leave a mark in China.
“It will be a learning tour as well and surely the team will enjoy it and play to find the right combinations and see what can work for us before the real business,” said Timo Tjongarero, head coach of the team.
He adds that the boys want to make a mark for the 2020 qualifiers.
“In recent years, we won Cosafa at senior and u-17 level and also reached the Chan final quarter-finals.
This crop of players want to add to those achievements by writing their own history and at least qualifying for the tournament in Egypt after the continental qualifiers,” explained Tjongarero.
Of the many friendly games the team has played thus far, the notable one was on 19 May, when they defeated the Tertiary Institutes Sports Association of Namibia football (Tisan) team 1-0 thanks to a goal by Israel Shikongo.
Namibia has to start preparations for their Olympic dream by negotiating past their continental hopefuls, with seven spots available for the eight-team 2019 African tournament to be held in Egypt by November or December 2019.
The tournament, which will be played in Egypt, will see the top three teams qualifying automatically for the Olympic Games.
The fourth-placed finisher plays in a play-off against a team from the Asian Football Confederation. Nigeria is the defending champions.
The following 20 players travelled to China:
Wisely Kauua, Baloyi Tsandib, Petrus Kamati, Aprocius Petrus, Paulus Abel, Uetuuru Kambato, Giovanni Nauseb, Pandeni Kandjabanga, Israel Shikongo, Hubert Mingeri, Romeo Kasume, Anthony Kham, Romario Hawiseb, Lubeni Haukongo, Calvin Spiegel, Rivaldo Festus, Kennedy //Eib, Brandon Neibeb, McCartney Naweseb and Hiha Katjivena.
NFA
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