The Brave Warriors have concluded their training sessions on home soil in preparation for their upcoming away matches against Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The Brave Warriors will first face Equatorial Guinea next week Wednesday, followed by a match against Sao Tome five days later.

The team completed their training and will travel to South Africa on Thursday.

There, they will be joined by their players who are based in S.A. and Botswana. The players based in Europe are expected to join the team in Equatorial Guinea on Monday.

Head coach Collin Benjamin shared his thoughts on the preparations for the upcoming matches.

“These games are World Cup qualifiers, two away games. But I think with what we are looking at with the nation's cup, we are using these games as preparations. We are focusing on different aspects such as maintaining a strong defence, organizing our structure, exploiting spaces when the opponents attack, and transitioning between phases. That's what we are focusing on in these games” Benjamin said.

The team is facing a challenge with injuries affecting key players such as Ronald Ketjijere, Edmond Kambanda, and Peter Shalulile.

“Players like Ketjijere, whom we were looking forward to having on the field, are once again unable to make it. Edmond Kambanda, who played a good game against Zimbabwe a few weeks ago, is also unable to join. Our talisman has also been out from his club for the past few weeks. However, we have a few players who can seize this opportunity to prove themselves to the coach. I will give them some time... The ultimate goal is to have them ready for Cote d'Ivoire” he added.

Midfielder Absalom Iimbodi and defender Charles Hambira are excited to be part of the traveling squad.