Namibia's national team coach Collin Benjamin says he is delighted to see the likes of Deon Hotto and Joslin Kamatuka playing regularly for the benefit of the national team.
Benjamin has confirmed that preparations for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers are already underway.
Namibia will face Malawi on 5 September before taking on Sao Tome and Principe four days later.
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With four qualifiers remaining, Namibia are still in contention to qualify for their first-ever World Cup, currently trailing Tunisia by four points.
Speaking to The Namibian this week, Benjamin pointed out that he will be heavily relying on his foreign-based players, such as Hotto of Orlando Pirates and Kamatuka of Durban City.
He said, "We’ve been preparing for about three weeks now. The first two weeks were really just focused on endurance and fitness, because they were really out of shape, but that’s understandable. But I think we’re getting there and getting into our phases.
"Luckily, all our guys playing outside of Namibia have been active. Joslin (Kamatuka) and Deon (Hotto) played last night, so that’s a plus, and we really count on them, their experience, and also their match fitness.
"Of the home-based players I’d say maybe 50% of them will make the final squad that will travel to Botswana on Sunday.
"There won’t be much time for friendly matches over there, so we really have to count on our foreign-based players."
IMAGES via Gallo
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By Lukhanyo Mtuta
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