Starlets relish the moment
Three Young Warriors players - Prins Tjiueza, Penouua Amazing Kandjii and Steven Damaseb - who recently joined the provisional Tafel Lager Brave Warriors squad are settling in well ahead of the 2021 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) match against Guinea set for 28 March.
Tjiueza, Kandjii and Damaseb received the national team call-up after returning from the under-20 Afcon competition held in Mauritania in February.
Tjiueza, a regular playmaker in the youth teams, was the top goal scorer at the 2018 edition of the Cosafa Cup and managed to bag a man of the match award at the U-20 Afcon finals, and so did captain Damaseb.
Happy to learn
“I'm definitely grateful to be here. This is the highest platform of football locally and it is every footballer's dream to play for the national team. The senior players welcomed us with so much positive energy and we are happy to learn from them.
“Most of the players have been in the set-up for a while and we have watched them, from a young age and we are just grateful to get the opportunity to play alongside them, even if it's just for training purposes,” Tjiueza said.
He added that he has dreams of playing international football and thus looks up to the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns and Warriors player Peter Shalulile. “Shalulile and I play the same position and as much as I want to make the final squad, there is no way I can bench the likes of him.
“He is scoring almost every weekend in the DStv Premiership and I cannot wait to learn from him and grow to the same extent he has grown over the years.
Successful captain
Damaseb is also excited to be joining the senior players and learning from them.
“I'm extremely excited to be training with the seniors. We are grateful to the coach Bobby Samaria for this opportunity because this is how junior players gradually develop to the senior national teams. It was first intimidating but we are getting the hang of it and the senior players are very encouraging and welcoming.”
Damaseb will be remembered as one of the most successful captains of the junior teams.
He captained the U-17 national team back in 2018 when they lost in the semi-finals of the Cosafa Cup and continued to make history when he captained his side to qualify for the U-20 Afcon for the first time after claiming second place at the U-20 Cosafa Cup in 2020.
Kandjii, who scored the only goal for Namibia at the U-20 Afcon, has no intentions of rushing into the national team set-up.
“I will have to wait for my chance because I'm competing against the likes of Riaan Hanamub, Ananias Gebhardt and Aprocius Petrus. I will be patient, my time will definitely come, but for now, I'm just intent on learning from the best and will continue to put in the work,” the talented left back said.
- NFA
Tjiueza, Kandjii and Damaseb received the national team call-up after returning from the under-20 Afcon competition held in Mauritania in February.
Tjiueza, a regular playmaker in the youth teams, was the top goal scorer at the 2018 edition of the Cosafa Cup and managed to bag a man of the match award at the U-20 Afcon finals, and so did captain Damaseb.
Happy to learn
“I'm definitely grateful to be here. This is the highest platform of football locally and it is every footballer's dream to play for the national team. The senior players welcomed us with so much positive energy and we are happy to learn from them.
“Most of the players have been in the set-up for a while and we have watched them, from a young age and we are just grateful to get the opportunity to play alongside them, even if it's just for training purposes,” Tjiueza said.
He added that he has dreams of playing international football and thus looks up to the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns and Warriors player Peter Shalulile. “Shalulile and I play the same position and as much as I want to make the final squad, there is no way I can bench the likes of him.
“He is scoring almost every weekend in the DStv Premiership and I cannot wait to learn from him and grow to the same extent he has grown over the years.
Successful captain
Damaseb is also excited to be joining the senior players and learning from them.
“I'm extremely excited to be training with the seniors. We are grateful to the coach Bobby Samaria for this opportunity because this is how junior players gradually develop to the senior national teams. It was first intimidating but we are getting the hang of it and the senior players are very encouraging and welcoming.”
Damaseb will be remembered as one of the most successful captains of the junior teams.
He captained the U-17 national team back in 2018 when they lost in the semi-finals of the Cosafa Cup and continued to make history when he captained his side to qualify for the U-20 Afcon for the first time after claiming second place at the U-20 Cosafa Cup in 2020.
Kandjii, who scored the only goal for Namibia at the U-20 Afcon, has no intentions of rushing into the national team set-up.
“I will have to wait for my chance because I'm competing against the likes of Riaan Hanamub, Ananias Gebhardt and Aprocius Petrus. I will be patient, my time will definitely come, but for now, I'm just intent on learning from the best and will continue to put in the work,” the talented left back said.
- NFA
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