Namibia clinch first ever qualification to AFCON round of 16

• Namibia finished third in their group
• They are ranked as third best number three
• South Africa finished second in the group

Namibia have qualified for the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the first time ever. They finished third in Group E with four points, but their barren draw with Mali on the final match day was enough to send the Brave Warriors through as one of the four third best placed teams.

Namibia stunned Tunisia 1-0 in their opening match before losing 4-0 to South Africa and drawing with Mali in their last match.

Striker Deon Hotto, named man of the match in the final game against Mali said they were proud as a team to have achieved the historic milestone.

“It wasn’t easy. We fought until the last minute, until the final whistle. This qualification means a lot for Namibia. When we arrived at the match, we already knew we had a point and we were qualified,” Hotto said after the game.

He added; “We tried to have a low block and take advantage of a few transitions. The Mali team is very strong, especially on these sides, so we clearly played low. We contained them but we also had chances. It was our day. As the match went on, you could see that nothing could happen to us.”

Namibia will now take on Angola in the last 16 and they hope to battle for another piece of history, making the quarter finals.

Mshishi calls for Bafana focus

South Africa team before a past match

Meanwhile, South Africa midfielder Themba “Mshishi’ Zwane has called on his teammates to remain calm and focused after they attained qualification to the round of 16 following their draw with Tunisia.

South Africa finished second in the group with four points, and they will now take on highly fancied Morocco in the round of 16.

Looking back at the match against Tunisia, Zwane was delighted with how the team came out and fought.

“We knew as a team that it was going to be difficult because they use a lot of physique and at the same time, we wanted to avoid necessary cautions and fouls. It was a difficult match but credit to my teammates for fighting on and ensuring that we keep calm and avoid costly mistakes,” Zwane said after the game.

He adds; “We have a good team to go forward for the games and fight. We are going to push ourselves. We need to keep focus and calm and ensure we take each match that comes with very good focus.”