Last throw of the dice for Warriors
• Namibia to face Mali tomorrow
In Korhogo, Ivory Coast, Bafana Bafana turned the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium into what felt like the claustrophobic UFC octagon for Namibia – battering their helpless neighbours 4-0 in the Afcon match.
On Sunday night, the Brave Warriors suffered a terrible loss at the hands of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, who knocked the lights out of Namibia in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group E match just before midnight.
Wednesday will be the last group match for the Warriors as they are set to face a fired-up Malian side at 19:00.
Namibia came fresh from their first ever 1-0 win against Tunisia last Tuesday, however, their joy was short-lived as Themba Zwane, a 34-year-old once deemed too old for international football, scored twice.
On the other hand, a loss to Mali five days ago meant this was a must-win match for Bafana Bafana and they roared into a three-goal lead by half-time.
With Percy Tau converting a penalty, Zwane bagging his brace and Thapelo Maseko netting in the second half, South Africa achieved their biggest winning margin in the competition.
Wasted chances
Local football coach Paulus Shipanga described the result as unfortunate. “The game plan got messed up because of the penalty and we wasted clear chances,” he said.
As it stands, Mali top the table with four points and South Africa and Namibia each have three, while Tunisia sit at the bottom on a single point after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Mali.
If Namibia wins their final match against Mali, they will automatically qualify to the round of 16 with six points - regardless of the South Africa and Tunisia result. The other scenario is that they draw against Mali and South Africa loses, which can also enable them to qualify, given that they will then have four points and South Africa will have three. Meanwhile, Tunisia will have four, with a inferior head-to-head record against Namibia.
The other possibility is Namibia finishing as third-best team out of all the groups and booking their place as one of the four teams to make it into the round of 16 in this category. A draw for South Africa and a draw for Namibia will mean both will finish on four points and South Africa will go through as runner-up because of the head-to-head and goal difference, while Namibia will still finish third and rely on the third-best runner-up opportunity.
Wednesday will be the last group match for the Warriors as they are set to face a fired-up Malian side at 19:00.
Namibia came fresh from their first ever 1-0 win against Tunisia last Tuesday, however, their joy was short-lived as Themba Zwane, a 34-year-old once deemed too old for international football, scored twice.
On the other hand, a loss to Mali five days ago meant this was a must-win match for Bafana Bafana and they roared into a three-goal lead by half-time.
With Percy Tau converting a penalty, Zwane bagging his brace and Thapelo Maseko netting in the second half, South Africa achieved their biggest winning margin in the competition.
Wasted chances
Local football coach Paulus Shipanga described the result as unfortunate. “The game plan got messed up because of the penalty and we wasted clear chances,” he said.
As it stands, Mali top the table with four points and South Africa and Namibia each have three, while Tunisia sit at the bottom on a single point after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Mali.
If Namibia wins their final match against Mali, they will automatically qualify to the round of 16 with six points - regardless of the South Africa and Tunisia result. The other scenario is that they draw against Mali and South Africa loses, which can also enable them to qualify, given that they will then have four points and South Africa will have three. Meanwhile, Tunisia will have four, with a inferior head-to-head record against Namibia.
The other possibility is Namibia finishing as third-best team out of all the groups and booking their place as one of the four teams to make it into the round of 16 in this category. A draw for South Africa and a draw for Namibia will mean both will finish on four points and South Africa will go through as runner-up because of the head-to-head and goal difference, while Namibia will still finish third and rely on the third-best runner-up opportunity.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article