World Cup lessons

Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti says he has gained new tactical insights from watching the just-ended 2018 Russia World Cup.

However, he was quick to caution people who are comparing the progress of smaller nations at the tournament to Namibia's inability to make an impact on world football.

Namibia has a population of about to 2.5 million, while a country like Iceland, which qualified for Russia 2018, has a population of less than 400 000.

Tournament finalists Croatia has a population of just over 4 million and Uruguay, who beat Portugal in the round of 16 and lost 2-1 to eventual champions France in the quarterfinals, has a population of 3.4 million people.

These population statistics have raised questions among Namibians about why the country has failed to qualify to the World Cup, while countries with fewer people have shone like diamonds at the world spectacle.

Namibia has also only qualified twice for the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) - in 1998 and 2008.

Mannetti said population numbers do not matter, only proper administration and facilities.

“Well, I have heard and read about how people are comparing us to the likes of Iceland, Croatia and Uruguay.

“To tell you the truth, these countries are miles ahead of us as far as the development of the game is concerned.

“If you take a look at Iceland, they have over 300 coaches with licences.

“This means that every child that plays football at primary school level is coached by a qualified coach and this directly benefits their national team,” Mannetti said.

The Brave Warriors mentor added these countries also have better facilities than Namibia.

“A country like Iceland also has enough stadiums to facilitate all their players and sport teams, which gives the players access to proper training.

“These stadiums are not just substandard like those in our rural towns, but they are top quality pitches of the highest standard.”

For these reasons, Mannetti condemned anyone trying to judge or compare Namibia with the smaller nations at the World Cup.



A tournament of upsets

He confessed that he gained many tactical insights watching the World Cup.

One of the tactics was how teams did well without having the ball at their feet.

“This was a World Cup of upsets and I was impressed with how teams were doing so well without being in possession of the ball.

“In most of the matches, the team with the most ball possession often ended up losing the match.

“This means that players were tactically prepared to be able to absorb pressure and to also do well when they do not have the possession,” Mannetti said.

He believes it is this tactic that gave France their historic 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final of the competition.

Mannetti felt that some of the teams who managed to break down resilient defenders in their matches were worth a watch too.

“The other tactic that was exciting to watch was also how teams were building up to break down resilient backlines.

“I do believe that we will be able to explore some of these tactics with the national team going forward.”

The Brave Warriors will now begin their preparations for their Afcon qualifiers in September.

The country begins its hunt for qualification when it hosts Zambia on 7 September.

Jesse Jackson Kauraisa