Hilarius Hamutenya
Namibia’s Young Warriors have been knocked out of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 | COSAFA Qualifier after a 2-1 defeat against Zambia in Maputo, Mozambique, on Tuesday.
Zambia opened the scoring just before halftime and doubled their lead in the 60th minute. Nineteen-year-old Engilio Gaogoseb pulled one back for Namibia with a goal in the 64th minute, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome.
This marks the Young Warriors’ second loss in the competition, following a narrow 1-0 defeat against Angola.
So far, Angola, along with Zambia and Zimbabwe, have advanced to the semifinals of the qualifier round.
Namibia was placed in Group B alongside Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini.
The tournament, which began on 26 September, will conclude on 5 October.
The finalists will qualify for the continental finals next year.
Despite the defeat, Namibian coach, James Britz remained optimistic about the team’s effort.
“It was a good game. Just imagine. We only trained for 10 days, and to score a goal from behind is really a great performance. We gave our all,” Britz said.
In the next set of matches, South Africa will take on Comoros, while Malawi faces Lesotho.
Looking ahead, the next competition will be the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 | COSAFA Qualifier and the 2024 COSAFA Under-17 Women’s Championship, both scheduled to take place in Maputo from 5 to 14 December.
