Namibia, one of the tournament’s underdogs at 2018 CHAN are buoyed by their group stage results which have earned them a quarterfinal berth against hosts Morocco in Casablanca on Saturday evening.
In his pre-match media address Nambia coach Ricardo Mannetti said his team are underdogs but his team will show some bite on the night in Casablanca where some 40 000 fans will be cheering on the home side.
“It will be premature to say how we would approach the match but I can say it will be a good game. Everything is possible in 90 minutes and if it needs for us to play our best football in the tournament we will,” said Mannetti.
“Namibia came to the tournament as underdogs and we will remain underdogs but that doesn’t mean the dogs don’t have teeth to bite
“We’re very positive that we can surprise Morocco and get a positive result. Morocco is a good team and I think we need to improve our play as we have shown in our previous three matches.
“The fact that we’re here for the first time doesn’t mean we don’t want to win. We want to do well and beat Morocco in front of their fans.
“I’m not the kind of coach who lives in the past. We have broken boundaries in qualifying for the tournament which is a huge achievement considering we did not have a league back home for nearly two years.
“We will not be intimidated by the fans but I think that Namibia will be something for Morocco to deal with.
Morocco’s coach Jamal Sellami said his team are going into the match well prepared.
“The match will be a strong and difficult one so if we want to play in the semis we have to deserve it by winning against Namibia,” said Sellami.
“We’re ready for Namibia because we have been preparing for 18 months which is enough to get us through. They (Namibia) are a team with balance and keeps the ball well so we have to keep our own balance and work towards breaking down their defence because they’re yet to concede in the tournament after three matches against difficult opponents.
“The rhythm will be different in Casablanca for Namibia because we have our fans behind us and they will play a part tomorrow.
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