NAMIBIA’s under-20 side won the International Youth Tournament in Germany after they defeated Armenia Bielefeld 1-0 in the final yesterday.
Striker Benson Shilongo scored the winner, while his teammate and captain Neville Tjiueza was voted the tournament’s best player.Earlier in the day, the Namibian team played to two-all draw against Hertha Berlin in the semifinals, with Black Africa striker Roger Katjiteo scoring a brace, and advanced to the final match with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory.The team began their assault of the youth tournament title in Theesen where they played and won two games on Saturday. In the first game, the Namibians faced Vfl Theesen, whom they dispatched 2-0 thanks to goals by Petrus Shitembi and Katjiteo, while in the second victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, Edmund Kambanda, Randall Goagoseb and Tjiueza got Namibia’s goals to record a 3-2 victory.On Sunday, the team defeated Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg, 1-0 with Benson Shilongo on target but were then held to one-all draw by Borussia Dortmund, with Shitembi the goal-scorer.This follows recent good results in friendly matches that included a 3-1 victory over Armenia Bielefeld last week; the 4-2 win over the Westphalia under-17 side and a 2-1 defeat to a team of youth players competing in the attached to Bundesliga clubs. Some players that are part of this team in Germany also featured for the national under-20 side that finished second at Cosafa Youth Championships last year in Botswana and were also instrumental in winning the Metropolitan Cup in Cape Town during Easter this year.They include Collin Ndjai, Robinson Iyambo, Innocent Tembo, Randall Goagoseb, Roger Katjiteo, Benson Shilongo, Petrus Shitembi, Alpheus Handura and Neville Tjiueza.The team returns home today.
