Home › Brave Warriors in COSAFA CUP 2013 Opener Submitted by mediaofficer on Fri, 2013-07-05 08:26 in brave warriors The COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013 gets under way when Namibia takes on Mauritius in their Group A clash at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka on Saturday with kick-off time 13h30 Namibian time. The late withdrawal of guest nation Equatorial Guinea has limited the pool to just three teams, with Seychelles the other competing side, making every match a must-win from the start. Namibia have a new coach in former national team midfielder Ricardo Mannetti, who got off to an excellent start last month when he guided his side to a 1-1 draw with Nigeria in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Mannetti knows that his side must get off to a positive start in the COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013 and has called on his players for complete focus. “We are playing two national teams and they must be respected as such. They are not regional teams or clubs and they are unique in their own rights. Playing Nigeria was different and playing Mauritius and Seychelles will be different too,” Mannetti says. “Anything can happen in football, we have to approach these games with total respect and confidence in our own abilities to do well. There is nothing obvious in football and every game has its own merits and if anyone in my technical team or players has any sense of complacency, then football is not the sport for them. ” Mauritius have named their selection for the COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013, bringing players with good experience to the regional showpiece tournament. Coach Akbar Patel, who led the side at the last COSAFA Cup tournament held in Zimbabwe in 2009, has opted largely for tried and trusted player, with a few notable youngsters thrown in. Having been knocked out of World Cup qualifying in the first round, it means this will be the first full international for the Mauritians of 2013, their last match a 2-0 win over Comoros Islands in December last year. Namibia and Mauritius have only ever met once before, the 2001 COSAFA Cup which resulted in a 1-0 success for the islanders in the first round. The match will be broadcasted live on NBC TV as well as on Supersport on Dstv, channels SS4 and SS9 with broadcast starting at 13h15.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 22:06:50 +0000
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