Namibia’s Young Warriors stormed into the semifinals of the u20 Cosafa Cup as they made history with their third consecutive win at the tournament on Tuesday.
Needing just a draw to progress, the Young Warriors left nothing to chance with a superb 3-0 victory against Seychelles to top their group and clinch a place in tomorrow’s semifinals.
Rashid Naobeb opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he received a great through-ball from his twin brother Shahid Naobeb that split the defence, and sidestepped Seychelles’ keeper to put the ball into an empty net.
Mateus Ashitenda made it 2-0 in the second half when he slammed home a rebound from a corner, while Ngifikefunue Kandume added a third when he stabbed home a loose ball in the box.
The win put Namibia at the top of Group A on nine points, while they made history in the process by winning all three their group matches for the first time.
Their victory was once again built on a great defensive display as they kept their third clean sheet of the tournament after previous 1-0 victories against both Mauritius and Mozambique, with central defender Shahid Naobeb winning the player of the match award.
Despite the comprehensive victory, Namibia coach Lucky Shipanga was not too happy with their performance.
“It’s a great performance because we won our group with maximum points, which is very good for the boys, who have now also made history. But when it comes to tactical play, I am not happy with the play because I brought in another team just to check. I knew that Seychelles and Mauritius are almost the same, but not better than us, so all I wanted was goal scoring, because that makes the difference,” he said.
“I have other players, the experienced players that I have kept in reserve for the semifinals, and that is the tactic, but I’m grateful for them, the pride of the nation and the maximum points that they got. It’s never happened in the history that Namibia won all three their group matches, so today was really a great game for them and we dedicated it to our people and our country,” he added.
The win ensured Namibia a semifinal spot as the winners of Group A on nine points, while they will now take on the best runner-ups in the semifinals tomorrow.
They will most probably once again face Mozambique, after the hosts finished second in Group A on six points and improved their goal aggregate to +7 with a comprehensive 5-0 victory against Mauritius on Tuesday.
The other semifinal will be contested by South Africa who won Group B, and Zambia, who won Group C.
