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Young Warriors fall short against Zambia at Cosafa

Football
Phillipus Josef
Namibia's Young Warriors ended their Cosafa U20 campaign with a 2-1 loss to Zambia in their final group stage encounter in Maputo, Mozambique.

With no chance of advancing to the knockout phase, this match was played largely for pride, as both teams were already eliminated from semi-final contention.

Namibia's head coach, James Britz, stuck with the same starting lineup and 3-5-2 formation as in the previous match against Angola.

Zambia came into the game as favourites, and their strong play from the start showcased their intent.



First half

After just seven minutes, Zambia's captain David Simukonda orchestrated a sequence of passes before finding left-back Samson Ngulube, who whipped a dangerous cross into the box. However, the chance was missed as Mumba Mwale sent the ball over the bar.

Namibia's right-back, Punaje Katjimune, found himself busy for most of the first half, dealing with consistent pressure from Zambia’s attacks on his side.

Namibia struggled to create space to build from the back, leading them to rely on long balls. Ten minutes before halftime, Mwale and Simukonda linked up once again, with Simukonda threading a splitting pass to Emmanuel Mwanza, who confidently slotted the ball into the top corner, giving Zambia a 1-0 lead. Namibia entered halftime trailing by a goal.



Second half

Zambia continued to control the game, extending their lead in the 58th minute.

Namibia's Engilio Goagoseb lost possession near the halfway line, allowing Zambia to counter. Mathews Banda carried the ball forward and found Patrick Simwinga, who delivered a precise cut-back. With a clever dummy from Mwanza, Henry Mbuti found himself in space and calmly placed the ball into the back of the net, doubling Zambia's lead.

Just two minutes later, Namibia pulled one back when Goagoseb curled a beautiful free kick over the wall and into the net, narrowing the deficit to 2-1.

This sparked hope for the Young Warriors, and coach Britz made a double substitution to inject fresh energy, bringing on Hendrick Gurirab and Maurizio January for Goagoseb and Godwin Beukes.

However, Namibia still looked vulnerable at the back, as Zambia continued to press aggressively and maintain a compact midfield.

In the 70th minute Zambia seemed to have scored a third goal, but it was disallowed. Despite creating more opportunities in the final 15 minutes, Zambia could not capitalize.

As the match neared stoppage time, Namibia had a promising opportunity. Michael Jonas made a move from the left and delivered a lobbed pass over the Zambian defense, but substitute Eugene Frederick failed to convert the chance.

Following the 2-1 win, Zambia’s captain David Simukonda was named the player of the match.

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Namibian Sun 2024-10-08

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 621.97/OZ DOWN -0.008 | Copper US$ 4.45/lb DOWN -0.0186 | Zinc US$ 3 096.00/T UP 0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 77.96/BBP DOWN -0.0451 | Platinum US$ 953.92/OZ DOWN -0.0175 Sport results: Premier League: Brighton 3 vs 2 Tottenham Hotspur | Chelsea 1 vs 1 Nottingham Forest | Aston Villa 0 vs 0 Manchester United | Everton 0 vs 0 Newcastle | West Ham 4 vs 1 Ipswich Town | Manchester City 3 vs 2 Fulham | Leicester City 1 vs 0 Bournemouth | Brentford 5 vs 3 Wolves | Arsenal 3 vs 1 Southampton | Crystal Palace 0 vs 1 Liverpool LaLiga: Real Sociedad 1 vs 1 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 1 vs 0 Real Betis | Deportivo Alaves 0 vs 3 Barcelona | Girona 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Real Madrid 2 vs 0 Villarreal | Real Valladolid 1 vs 2 Rayo Vallecano | Las Palmas 0 vs 1 Celta Vigo | Getafe 1 vs 1 Osasuna | Espanyol 2 vs 1 Mallorca SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 AC Milan | Monza 1 vs 1 AS Roma | SS Lazio 2 vs 1 Empoli | Bologna 0 vs 0 Parma | Juventus 1 vs 1 Cagliari | Inter Milan 3 vs 2 Torino | Atalanta 5 vs 1 Genoa | Udinese 1 vs 0 Lecce European Championships Qualifying: Bristol City 1 vs 1 Cardiff City | West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Millwall FC | Watford 2 vs 1 Middlesbrough | Swansea City 0 vs 0 Stoke City | Sheffield United 2 vs 0 Luton Town | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Derby County 2 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Sheffield Wednesday | Portsmouth 1 vs 1 Oxford United | Norwich City 4 vs 0 Hull City | Burnley 0 vs 0 Preston North End English Championship: Bristol City 1 vs 1 Cardiff City | West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Millwall FC | Watford 2 vs 1 Middlesbrough | Swansea City 0 vs 0 Stoke City | Sheffield United 2 vs 0 Luton Town | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Derby County 2 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Sheffield Wednesday | Portsmouth 1 vs 1 Oxford United | Norwich City 4 vs 0 Hull City | Burnley 0 vs 0 Preston North End Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 36° Rundu: 17° | 38° Eenhana: 19° | 38° Oshakati: 20° | 37° Ruacana: 19° | 37° Tsumeb: 21° | 35° Otjiwarongo: 17° | 34° Omaruru: 18° | 34° Windhoek: 17° | 31° Gobabis: 20° | 33° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:38, High tide: 06:00, Low Tide: 00:09, High tide: 18:07 Swakopmund: 13° | 15° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:36, High tide: 05:58, Low Tide: 00:07, High tide: 18:05 Walvis Bay: 13° | 20° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:36, High tide: 05:57, Low Tide: 00:07, High tide: 18:04 Rehoboth: 17° | 33° Mariental: 21° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 36° Aranos: 21° | 35° Lüderitz: 10° | 20° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 37° Oranjemund: 13° | 22° Luanda: 23° | 24° Gaborone: 18° | 30° Lubumbashi: 17° | 35° Mbabane: 13° | 28° Maseru: 13° | 27° Antananarivo: 13° | 26° Lilongwe: 19° | 32° Maputo: 18° | 30° Windhoek: 17° | 31° Cape Town: 16° | 22° Durban: 16° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 27° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 31° Lusaka: 18° | 32° Harare: 16° | 29° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.97 | EUR to NAD 19.27 | CNY to NAD 2.49 | USD to NAD 17.57 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.16 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.63 | USD to AOA 905 | USD to BWP 13.24 | USD to EGP 48.55 | USD to KES 128.5 | USD to NGN 1628.3 | USD to ZAR 17.56 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1839.33 Down -1.67% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14019.63 Down -0.97% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30851.63 Down -3.04% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9661.12 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 621.97/OZ DOWN -0.008 | Copper US$ 4.45/lb DOWN -0.0186 | Zinc US$ 3 096.00/T UP 0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 77.96/BBP DOWN -0.0451 | Platinum US$ 953.92/OZ DOWN -0.0175