Kham scores brace as Namibia lose to China

ELEVEN Arrows playmaker Anthony Kham came off the bench to score twice in Namibia under 23’s 4-2 defeat against China u23 at the Wanzhou Sports Stadium on Monday night in front of a packed 22 000 crowd.

Kham came on for Namibia on 61 minutes with the score already at 3-0 and it was 4-0 on 77 minutes when China captain Gao Zhunyi scored .

Kham however made it 4-1 with a deft touch from outside the box fivew minutes later while he completed his brace on 90 minutes from the penalty spot.

The halftime score was 2-0 in favour of China with goals from Zhunyi on 15 minutes and a penalty by Yao Jusheng.

For Namibia, Romeo Kasume who came on in the second half had a great shot from outside the box on 70 minutes saved by the keeper; captain Pandeni Kandjabanga also came close with a hard cross, and Black Africa’s McCartney Naweseb came close with three chances at goal.

The stocky Romario Hawiseb led the line well, while another Arrows man Aprocius Petrus protected the defence well in the second half as Lüderitz-based Petrus Kamati, who conceded the penalty, Kennedy Eib and Baloyi Tsandib withheld the Chinese attack.

“We started poorly but later we brought in players with better technical ability and they made the changes. We will improve for the second game,” coach Timo Tjongarero said after the game.

“We are not used to the pitch being wet before kickoff. The number of fans in the stands are not normal for the boys and I applaud the people for coming out and motivating the boys and I really loved it”, coach Timo Tjongarero told the press conference.

The second and final game of will be played on Thursday, 10h00 local time and 04h00 Namibian time at the same venue, the Wanzhou Sports Stadium.

China is preparing for the Asia Games in 2019 while Namibia is preparing for the 2019 Caf u23 Nations Cup. – nfa.org.na

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.