Namibia picked up their first point of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign when they held Cameroon to a 0-0 draw at the Orlando Stadium in neutral Soweto, South Africa on Wednesday.
It is not enough to keep Namibia in contention for a finals place as they had already been eliminated before kick-off but is a positive for coach Collin Benjamin to build on against one of the top teams on the continent.
By contrast, Cameroon had already sealed their place in Morocco next year having come into the game with 10 points at the top of the pool.
Namibia will play their final qualifier against Kenya at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa on Tuesday, where they will hope to finish on a high and possibly finish above the East Africans.
It was a game of few chances at either end against Cameroon, but Namibia did have a good one when Indomitable Lions’ goalkeeper Andre Onana got down low to save his shot.
The Manchester United gloveman sprawled himself to the left and pushed the show around the post after Shalulile had turned and beaten his marker.
Cameroon had the lions’ share of possession, but Namibia created more chances and especially in the first half peppered their opponents’ goal with shots, although most went wide of the target.
Coach Benjamin made a triple change just past the hour-mark to try and get something from the game but try as they might Namibia could not force a goal.
The result keeps up Namibia’s good record against Cameroon of late. The previous four meetings have resulted in a win each and two draws.
Benjamin will hope his side can take confidence from the performance into their next assignment after this qualification campaign, which is the resumption of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Namibia have made a fine start with eight points from a possible 12, and next face Malawi away and Equatorial Guinea at home in March.
They are two points behind pool leaders Tunisia with only the top side advancing automatically to the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The four best second placed finishers across the nine pools advance to the second round of African qualifying in November 2025, where one team will win a place in the inter-continental play-offs. – cosafa.com
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