AFCON DREAM

Namibia’s Brave Warriors started off their qualification for the 2019 African Nations Cup with a 1-0 defeat away to Guinea-Bissau, followed by a 1-1 draw with Zambia. They are in the same group with fellow regional rivals Mozambique, with only the pool winners guaranteed of their place in Cameroon next year. Namibia has only ever qualified for the Afcon finals twice, yet are still encouraged by the positive signs following their maiden Cosafa Castle Cup crown in 2015 to secure a third appearance in the continent’s premier competition. “We have a mixture of young locally-based players who went to the quarter-finals of the Chan tournament in Morocco earlier this year, and then a few guys playing outside the country,” says Hotto, who has nine goals in 40 appearances for his national team. “The coach [former Santos midfielder Ricardo Mannetti] is trying to work a lot more with the younger players so as to enable them to get more exposure and experience. The nation is looking forward to us qualifying for the 2019 Afcon, even though we started with that loss away to Guinea-Bissau. We are still in with a chance and we are confident we will kill off Guinea-Bissau when they come to our home. The plus is that all other teams in our group are from our region.”