Young Warriors fall to Angola in Cosafa U20 Afcon qualifier

Namibia’s Young Warriors are staring down the barrel in their Cosafa men’s Under-20 Afcon qualifiers campaign, losing 1-0 to neighbours Angola in their opening match yesterday at the ABB stadium in Mozambique’s capital Maputo.

In pool B, the only one with just three teams, the Angolans have ensured their place in the semi-final, following their earlier 3-1 victory against another neighbour, Zambia.

Coach James Britz’s Namibian team will now need a convincing win over Zambia on Tuesday at 12:00 to enhance their prospects of advancing to the knock-out phase on the grounds of being the best of the second-placed teams.



First half

The Young Warriors got off to a shaky start, conceding a foul just eight minutes after kick-off. However, Angola’s subsequent cross into the penalty area did not pose any real danger. The Angolans dominated possession for the first 15 minutes, testing goalkeeper Diego Maletsky 18 minutes into the match with a long-range shot that required a solid save.

Namibia had a chance to respond when they were awarded a free kick near the edge of the box. Unfortunately, Engilio Goagoseb failed to capitalize, as the shot hit the defensive wall. For the remainder of the half, both teams struggled to maintain possession, with little coordination in the final third of the field. Goagoseb showed promise with some good link-up play alongside Michael Jonas, but no real threats emerged.

Angola had another close call in the 38th minute with a cross from the right wing, but Amado Haidara sent the shot over the bar, leaving the scoreline unchanged at halftime.



Second half

Angola started the second half strongly, applying muchh pressure. However, the Young Warriors kept their defense compact, especially in midfield.

In an attempt to shift the game’s momentum, coach James Britz made a double substitution, but the changes did not lead to any immediate attacking threat.

Angola continued to dominate possession, but both teams struggled to create clear chances. The intensity picked up in the final 15 minutes, with Namibia nearly taking the lead after a mistake by Angola’s goalkeeper Cristiano Bombassa. Unfortunately, the Namibians couldn’t react quickly enough to capitalize on the error.

With just one minute remaining, disaster struck as a long-range shot was parried by Namibia’s goalkeeper Diego Maletsky, but the rebound fell dangerously into the box, and Angola managed to take advantage, securing the 89th-minute match-winning goal from Filipe Quissequel.



All results so far:

Pool A – Zimbabwe 1-1 Botswana / Mozambique 4-5 Eswatini / Eswatini 0-3 Zimbabwe / Mozambique 1-2 Botswana.

Pool B – Zambia 1-3 Angola / Angola 1-0 Namibia.

Pool C – Comoros 1-0 Lesotho / South Africa 5-0 Malawi / Malawi 2-1 Comoros / South Africa 6-0 Lesotho.

Only the top team in each pool advances to the semifinals along with one best-placed runner-up, with the two finalists qualifying for the continental finals that are due to be played next year.