KORHOGO: Former Brave Warriors captain, Ronald Ketjijere, says Namibians should take pride in the team’s accomplishments at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON), after the team recorded a 1-0 victory over Tunisia on Tuesday evening.

Ketjijere, in an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, said that the senior men’s national team went through a challenging qualifier process, with all their matches played away from home.

The Brave Warriors began their 2023 AFCON championship with a 1-0 victory against Tunisia, and they are in Group E with South Africa and Mali and based in the northern town of Korhogo in Ivory Coast.

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, Ketjijere said that, as a player, he could not return to the team to feature at the 2023 AFCON Finals despite being called up, due to injury.

‘I am happy with what the team has achieved. The team did well by qualifying, especially since they played all their matches away from home. I am confident that the experience in the team, consists of 70 per cent of
players who competed at the 2019 AFCON, so this will help them in this tournament,’ he said.

Ketjijere commended the technical team for assembling a team that played most of its matches away from home and still qualified.

‘The current pressure on the team is to try and do better, as this is the fourth time Namibia is qualifying for AFCON, and they needed to break the curse of not winning a match at the competition. As a Namibian, I call on everyone to support these great players who have always done their best against all odds,’ Ketjijere said.

The former captain also called on the players to go out there with confidence and continue delivering the hard work they have been doing.

‘Our team’s pressing game puts opponents under pressure, and since everyone is playing away from home, each team stands a chance of making it at this competition,’ he said.

Ketjijere, who is in Ivory Coast on a CAF ticket to promote Namibian and African football, stated that he would have loved to form part of the team, but his
exclusion due to injury offered an opportunity for another player.

‘The current talent in the team is the future of Namibian football, and they deserve all the support and encouragement for the future of our game,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency