Brave Warriors exit AFCON group stages for first time to battle Angola
By Adolf Kaure.
Namibia has progressed out of the group stages of the CAF (Confederation of African Football) TotalEnergies African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 after a goalless deadlock against Mali in their final Group E contest played on Wednesday at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro, Ivory Coast.
Mali won Group E with five points after one victory and two draws. South Africa ended as Group E’s runner-up on four points after one victory, one draw and one defeat. Namibia also gathered four points, but were placed third due to an inferior goal difference (-3 goal difference) caused mainly because of the 4-0 defeat to South Africa (+2 goal difference).
Despite being placed third in the group, Namibia finished as one of the four best third-ranked teams in the group stages of the competition. The other three best placed are Guinea (4 points), Mauritania (3 points) and hosts Ivory Coast (3 points).
The Tafel Lager Brave Warriors will now face neighbouring country, Group B winners, Angola in the second round match on Saturday at the Peace Stadium in Bouaké, Ivory Coast from 19:00.
Angola, who represented Africa at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, are ranked number 117 in the latest Coca Cola FIFA Rankings, while Namibia is ranked number 115.
Despite being ranked lower than Namibia, Angola is undefeated in their last five games, mastering two wins and three draws. Namibia’s current form includes two wins, two draws and one defeat from their last five matches.
The two nations have faced each in during Group C of the 1998 AFCON, with Namibia throwing away a 3-1 lead to draw the match 3-3.The last two encounters between the two countries were international friendlies in 2009 and 2011. The matches ended in respective 0-0 and 1-1 draws.
The full CAF TotalEnergies AFCON 2023 second round fixtures are as follows:
Nigeria vs Cameroon;
Angola vs Namibia;
Cape Verde vs Mauritania;
Morocco vs South Africa;
Mali vs Burkina Faso;
Senegal vs Ivory Coast;
Egypt vs Democratic Republic of Congo; and
Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea.
Deon Hotto, in white trunks, was named the man of the match against Mali. (Photograph from Facebook)
