Brave Warriors eye 2026 Fifa World Cup spot

Namibia’s Brave Warriors will take on Equatorial Guinea in Polokwane, South Africa this afternoon in confident mood after an impressive 1-0 victory against Malawi on Thursday reignited their 2026 Fifa World Cup campaign.

A superb strike by Prins Tjiueza five minutes before half-time gave them a well-deserved victory which put them just two points behind log leaders Tunisia and kept alive their dream of a first-ever Fifa World Cup qualification.

Peter Shalulile was a constant threat for Malawi’s defence and also came close to scoring, but it was Namibia’s defence, well-marshalled by Charles Hambira, that shone as they thwarted several Malawian efforts.

Hambira kept Malawi’s dangermen Richard Mbulu and Gabadinho Mhango in check with a commanding performance, while Ngero Katua and new cap Bonifasius Josef also shone in defence.

The recalled veteran midfielder Dynamo Fredericks – playing his first match for the Brave Warriors since July 2023 – added solidity to the midfield along with the hard-working Aprocius Petrus. With the experienced Shalulile and Deon ‘Hotto’ Kavendji, and the creative Tjiueza in attack, a well-rounded unit and a squad with depth and quality is starting to take shape.

Thursday’s win saw Namibia narrowing the gap with log leaders Tunisia to two points, boosting their chances of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The top teams of each of the nine Confederation of Africa qualifying groups will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the four best-placed runners-up also have a chance of qualifying. They will be involved in a four-team African playoff, with the winner progressing to an inter-continental playoff where the top two teams will qualify for the global football tournament.

With the World Cup qualifying campaign now at the halfway stage, Namibia is on the hunt for a spot, but after the win against Malawi, coach Collin Benjamin tempered expectations and refused to get carried away.

“To have dreams is good, it gives you a target to keep on working, but we’re honestly not looking at the table. I think with the (2024) Afcon campaign that we had, it’s really good to have these feelings of joy, of happiness, of accomplishment for my players, so that we have a good motivation and a good feeling for the next game,” he said.

“We’re honestly just looking at it game by game, and looking at how the players can grow. Today we had two guys who are new to the team – Sergio Damaseb and Bonifasius Josef – and I think they did good, so we have to try and build on those achievements,” he added.

“We’re going to keep on working; we’re not looking at the log, it’s about Namibia, how can we grow, how can the players grow and how can we grow as a nation,” he said.

NSUE DISPUTE DRAGS ON

Namibia’s World Cup fortunes, however, could hinge on the outcome of the ongoing dispute regarding Equatorial Guinea striker Emilio Nsue.

He scored the solitary goal in Equatorial Guinea’s first-round victory against Namibia in November 2023, but Fifa later declared him ineligible to play for the country after having represented Spain at youth level earlier in his career.

He also scored in a 1-0 win against Liberia a week after the Namibia encounter, but Fifa ruled that both games would be forfeited, which saw Namibia moving up the log to second position.

Equatorial Guinea’s football federation (Feguifut) appealed the decision and on 5 March this year, Fifa made a u-turn when it announced that Nsue was eligible to play for Equatorial Guinea after all – he has now been included in their squad to face Namibia tomorrow.

On 7 March the BBC reported that a statement by Equatorial Guinea’s minister for justice in which he highlighted their constitution – which states that anyone born to a mother or father from the country is automatically an Equatoguinean upon birth – helped win the case.

“The fact that Nsue could show an old Equatoguinean passport from 2004, a document which preceded his first Spain youth appearance, also helped win the case,” it added.

Equatorial Guinea have now appealed to Fifa to have their deducted six points reinstated, which if successful, will see them replacing Namibia in second position on the log.

“Now that [Nsue] has been deemed eligible to play for Equatorial Guinea, I think the World Cup points should be coming back to us in the future,” the BBC quoted Feguifut president Ndong Micha as saying.

“We want the six points, as this will give us renewed hope as we fight to qualify,” he added.