WINDHOEK, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's football coach, Ricardo Mannetti called up 24 players for training on Tuesday ahead of the team's departure to the Cosafa Cup which will take place in South Africa.

The Cosafa Cup will be hosted in Polokwane, South Africa and features teams from southern Africa. Namibia will face Zambia in the quarterfinals on June 2.

"We will play against a strong team from Zambia. They have won AFCON, participated at CHAN a couple of times, and they are a stronger football nation compared to us," Mannetti said.

Out of the 24 players called, only 20 will be selected. "Last year was not a good year for us but when I look at this current squad, it is well balanced, there is a lot of strength and respect among players and for the technical team and with that we can move mountains," added Mannetti.

According to Mannetti, his team throughout the tournament will be without the services of players like Petrus Shitembi and Benson Shilongo who are currently nursing injuries.

In this year's tournament, Zimbabwe returns to the competition as defending champions and will face the winner of Group B in the quarterfinals, which contains Angola, Botswana, Mauritius and Malawi.

Hosts South Africa will take on the winner of Group A, which contains Mozambique, Madagascar, The Comoros and Seychelles.