Battle of the Brave

Namibia take on mighty South Africa in the Under 20 The Namibian Challenge tomorrow afternoon, hoping that history will repeat itself.

On paper, South Africa appear to be far stronger, but the form guide and reputations will count for nothing when the two sides go head-to-head at the Sam Nujoma Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Namibia has, after all, provided some great upsets against its southern neighbours in the past and its new-look U20 squad will be determined to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors.At senior level the honours are even with two victories apiece.In 1998, Namibia’s Brave Warriors shocked South Africa with a 3-2 victory in the Cosafa Cup in Windhoek.Goals by Tiger Goagoseb and Bimbo Tjihero forced the match into extra time, when Berlin Auchumeb scored a dramatic winner.A month later, South Africa however thumped Namibia 4-1 at the African Cup of Nations finals in Burkina Faso, with Benni McCarthy scoring all their goals, while China Uutoni scored for Namibia.In 1999, Namibia once again dumped South Africa out of the Cosafa Cup when they won a penalty shoot out 4-1 after a 1-all draw at fulltime.Congo Hindjou scored for Namibia during normal time, while goalkeeper Ronnie Kanalelo gave a brilliant performance in the shootout, with some great saves and a scorching goal himself.South Africa beat Namibia 1-0 in their last encounter – a friendly at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in 2006 – through a goal by Katlego Mashego.At Under-23 level, South Africa hold the advantage, with two victories to one.In November 2002, South Africa beat Namibia 3-1 in a friendly match in Windhoek, but barely three months later Namibia shocked South Africa with a 1-0 victory at a Four Nations tournament in Johannesburg.Charlie Aoseb scored the winning goal, while future Brave Warriors players like Nelson Akwenye, Franklin April and Chris Nauseb all gave great performances.In 2006, South Africa beat Namibia 1-0 in Potchefstroom and then drew 1-1 in Windhoek in Olympic Games qualifying matches.AMATJITA AND NAMIBIA U20 TIED At Under-20 level the countries are tied with one victory apiece.In 2000 South Africa beat Namibia 2-0 in the Cosafa Cup competition, but Namibia came back with a stunning 1-0 victory at the 2006 SADC Youth Games in Windhoek.That victory was all the more remarkable since key Namibian striker Lazarus Kaimbi was red carded after only 25 minutes.But a fired-up Namibian team took the game to the “Amajita” and Kenny Malgas scored the winning goal through a great volley in the second half.South Africa however have a much better record in the Cosafa Cup U20 competition, having won the title on three occasions.Namibia’s best performance came last year when they reached the semi-finals before losing 1-0 to eventual champions, Zimbabwe.This time around, South Africa one again have a star-studded team, with many of their players playing for top South African Premier League teams like Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates.Namibia, on the other hand, had to rebuild its squad, since most of last year’s players are now over age.Despite once again being the underdogs, Namibia’s team manager, Lesley Kozonguizi said they were fired up for the match and hoped to give the Namibian nation a performance to remember.”We have been working very hard for this game and the players are highly motivated.But people must understand that we are facing a very strong team, while our squad has only been together for two weeks,” he said.The Namibian team wrapped up its preparations with a fine performance in a friendly match against Orlando Pirates on Wednesday night.The Under 20’s won the match 2-1 through goals by strikers Thomas Gariseb and Pengeyo Tataeti.Both the Namibian and South African teams will still have training sessions at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, with the Amajita’s session scheduled for 16h00 this afternoon.www.namibiasport.com.naNamibia has, after all, provided some great upsets against its southern neighbours in the past and its new-look U20 squad will be determined to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors.At senior level the honours are even with two victories apiece.In 1998, Namibia’s Brave Warriors shocked South Africa with a 3-2 victory in the Cosafa Cup in Windhoek.Goals by Tiger Goagoseb and Bimbo Tjihero forced the match into extra time, when Berlin Auchumeb scored a dramatic winner.A month later, South Africa however thumped Namibia 4-1 at the African Cup of Nations finals in Burkina Faso, with Benni McCarthy scoring all their goals, while China Uutoni scored for Namibia.In 1999, Namibia once again dumped South Africa out of the Cosafa Cup when they won a penalty shoot out 4-1 after a 1-all draw at fulltime.Congo Hindjou scored for Namibia during normal time, while goalkeeper Ronnie Kanalelo gave a brilliant performance in the shootout, with some great saves and a scorching goal himself.South Africa beat Namibia 1-0 in their last encounter – a friendly at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in 2006 – through a goal by Katlego Mashego.At Under-23 level, South Africa hold the advantage, with two victories to one.In November 2002, South Africa beat Namibia 3-1 in a friendly match in Windhoek, but barely three months later Namibia shocked South Africa with a 1-0 victory at a Four Nations tournament in Johannesburg.Charlie Aoseb scored the winning goal, while future Brave Warriors players like Nelson Akwenye, Franklin April and Chris Nauseb all gave great performances.In 2006, South Africa beat Namibia 1-0 in Potchefstroom and then drew 1-1 in Windhoek in Olympic Games qualifying matches.AMATJITA AND NAMIBIA U20 TIED At Under-20 level the countries are tied with one victory apiece.In 2000 South Africa beat Namibia 2-0 in the Cosafa Cup competition, but Namibia came back with a stunning 1-0 victory at the 2006 SADC Youth Games in Windhoek.That victory was all the more remarkable since key Namibian striker Lazarus Kaimbi was red carded after only 25 minutes.But a fired-up Namibian team took the game to the “Amajita” and Kenny Malgas scored the winning goal through a great volley in the second half.South Africa however have a much better record in the Cosafa Cup U20 competition, having won the title on three occasions.Namibia’s best performance came last year when they reached the semi-finals before losing 1-0 to eventual champions, Zimbabwe.This time around, South Africa one again have a star-studded team, with many of their players playing for top South African Premier League teams like Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates.Namibia, on the other hand, had to rebuild its squad, since most of last year’s players are now over age.Despite once again being the underdogs, Namibia’s team manager, Lesley Kozonguizi said they were fired up for the match and hoped to give the Namibian nation a performance to remember.”We have been working very hard for this game and the players are highly motivated.But people must understand that we are facing a very strong team, while our squad has only been together for two weeks,” he said.The Namibian team wrapped up its preparations with a fine performance in a friendly match against Orlando Pirates on Wednesday night.The Under 20’s won the match 2-1 through goals by strikers Thomas Gariseb and Pengeyo Tataeti.Both the Namibian and South African teams will still have training sessions at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, with the Amajita’s session scheduled for 16h00 this afternoon.www.namibiasport.com.na