Namibia’s Under-17 (U-17) Men’s Football Team on Sunday lost to Botswana by a 2-1 scoreline in their opening game of the 2022 African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 games at the Bingu International Stadium.

The win means Malawi have qualified for the semi-finals of the U-17 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Algeria 2023 for the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Qualifier.

Namibia was the first to score in 27 minutes as Dorian Nanuseb finished off a counter-attacking move a few seconds after Malawi thought had scored, only for the offside flag to silence the partisan crowd.

Namibia could have extended their lead in the 33rd minute, but Yanis Philanders’ pass was completely skewed by Dorian Nanuseb.

That miss energised Malawi who pushed forward and claimed a penalty after captain Nilton Gertze seemed to push Vincent Harrison from the back, but the referee waved Malawi’s claims away.

There was no denying Malawi in the 37th minute when Mwisho Mhango was brought down in the box by Snewe Katjirua and the referee pointed to the spot.

Captain Blessings Kanowa converted the resultant penalty to leave the sides tied at one-all at halftime.

The second half saw Malawi press forward and were duly rewarded when Webster Mzunda slotted in the winner with seven minutes to play, to send the home support into raptures.

Namibia now plays Botswana on Tuesday, 06 December needing nothing less than a victory to guarantee them qualification to the next round.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency