Namibia coach Collin Benjamin remains bullish despite losing 1-2 to Malawi in a World Cup qualifier on Friday. He insists that the Brave Warriors can only be counted out of the qualification race 'when the fat lady sings.’
The coach's remarks are based on an expression that means that a contest is not truly over or decided until the very end.
Therefore, Benjamin remains optimistic that the Brave Warriors can still qualify for the World Cup finals from group H.
"We are the Brave Warriors. We are only out when the fat lady sings,” the coach told the Namibia Football Association media.
Benjamin explained what he needs to change for Namibia to finish the last three games on a high.
“We have to come down and analyze the situation. We have to work on minimising the mistakes and look forward to the Sao Tome match," the coach added.
DISAPPOINTMENT AFTER GOOD PERFORMANCE
The Brave Warriors mentor insisted that his charges had the lion’s share of possession in the match and were only let down by concentration lapses.
“I think obviously the disappointment is there mostly because we had a good game,” Benjamin added.
“We controlled the match and created a few clear chances, but we were unable to finish. The opponents managed to find the lead in the first five minutes because of a silly mistake we made, and they capitalised on that, but it’s normal.”
The second-placed Namibia scored a face-saver through substitute David Ndeunyema’s goal six minutes before fulltime.
Benjamin’s men remain seven points behind leaders Tunisia. The next game for the Brave Warriors is against São Tomé and Príncipe on Tuesday.
Strikers Richard Mbulu and Gabadinho Mhango scored in either half for Malawi to hand the Brave Warriors their first defeat in seven games in group H.
Mbulu, the former Baroka FC striker, profited from Namibia’s sloppy defending to score the Flames opener after five minutes.
Malawi also made the most of Benjamin’s men pressing high up the pitch. Mhango intercepted a pass in the middle of the park and chipped a long-range ball into the deserted net in the 53rd minute.
Meanwhile, Malawi took their tally to nine points while placed fifth, 10 points behind group leaders Tunisia. Malawi’s next game is against Liberia in Lilongwe on Tuesday.