The Brave Warriors got their Fifa 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a 2-0 victory over Sao Tome e Principe in the Moroccan coastal city of Agadir on Tuesday.
Prins Tjiueza gave Namibia the lead from a corner early on, while an own goal by Adjakson Ramos midway through the second half sealed Namibia’s victory.
It was Namibia’s first win of their campaign following a 1-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea on 15 November, and sees them moving up the log to third position in Group H on three points, behind Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea, who are both on six points after winning their opening two matches.
After some early attacks, Namibia took the lead from a great strike by Tjiueza, who’s pinpoint corner curled past Sao Tome’s goalie, Pedro Mateus, high into the net after only nine minutes.
Namibia had most of the possession and more chances came their way as Deon Hotto, Riaan !Hanamub and Ryan Nyambe, all provided some good crosses into the box, which were not converted, while Tjiueza also looked sharp in midfield.
Sao Tome had few chances of note, although left winger Ronaldo Afonso tested the Namibian defence on occasion, with a volleyed shot going into the sidenetting.
Namibia coach Collin Benjamin brought midfielder Marcel Papama on for defender Ivan Kamberipa at the start of the second half and he soon made an impact with his creative energy and pinpoint passes.
He wasted a great chance early on when he broke into the box, but took too long to shoot, while another chance went abegging when Namibia launched a swift counterattack, but Muzeu Muzeu could not finish off Hotto’s cross.
Namibia went 2-0 ahead on 75 minutes, after another clanger by Sao Tome goalie Mateus.
He could not control a backpass by defender Ramos, and watched on in horror as the ball rolled into an empty net.
More chances came Namibia’s way, but Ananias Gebhardt could not control a freekick by Hotto with only the goalie to beat, while Hanamub shot wide after another Papama attack.
Sao Tome seldom troubled Namibia, who held on for a comfortable victory, which was to be expected with Namibia ranked 27th in Africa and 114th in the world, while Sao Tome e Principe are one of the lowest ranked countries with an African ranking of 50th and a world ranking of 186th.
Tunisia, meanwhile, went to the top of the log on goal difference after winning their opening two matches.
Last Friday they opened their campaign with a 4-0 home victory in front of 10 000 fans in Tunis against Sao Tome e Principe in Tunis, with Yassine Meriah, Youssef Msakni, Hamza Rafia and Mohamed Firas Ben Larbi scoring their goals.
On Tuesday, they followed that up with a 1-0 victory against Malawi in Lilongwe, with Msakni scoring the winner with only two minutes left from the penalty spot.
Equatorial Guinea are second on the log, also on six points, but with an inferior goal aggregate after beating Namibia 1-0 on 15 November and Liberia by the same score in Monrovia five days later, with striker Emilio Nsue scoring on both occasions.
Namibia and Malawi are both on three points (Malawi beat Liberia 1-0 on 17 November), while Liberia and Sao Tome e Principe are both on zero points.
The top team in each of the nine groups will qualify automatically for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The four best runners-up will participate in a play-off competition, with the winner progressing to a final inter-confederation play-off competition where the top two teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
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