Namibia progressed to the semi-finals of the 2022 Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup after beating Madagascar 3-0 at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Tuesday.

Following a goalless first half in which the Namibians showed flashes of brilliance, the Brave Warriors went ahead in the second half through an Absalom Iimbondi penalty in the 50th minute.

This was after Wendell Rudath had been brought down in the penalty box following a quickly taken free-kick down the left flank.

Madagascar flew into Durban on the day of the match, pushed forward for an equaliser, but the Brave Warriors went further ahead when Iimbondi played a perfect pass to Rudath in the box.

The Botswana-based winger drove to the by-line before squeezing his shot between the goalkeeper and the upright to make it 2-0 in the 65th minute.

Madagascar then suffered a setback when Lalaina Rafanomezantsoa received his second yellow card for an early shower after a clumsy challenge in the middle of the park.

Namibia failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage as they wasted two great chances, first when Bethuel Muzeu dribbled past everyone and the goal itself, when scoring seemed easier.

Substitute Steven Damaseb then followed his fellow debutant’s example by dribbling past the goalkeeper but choosing to go solo rather than pass to another debutant, John Lionel Routh, who was in a better position to score.

Madagascar did not offer much in the second half as fatigue seemed to set in amid Namibia’s superior fitness levels.

Rudath was named man of the match and said the team was well prepared for a physical Madagascar.

Brave Warriors coach, Collin Benjamin, was not impressed with his players after going 2-0 up.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done. The team is very raw; at times they were a bit unprofessional. You cannot survive international football with this kind of performance,” he said.

The match was the tournament’s first quarterfinal and saw the Brave Warriors hand debuts to three players, namely Baggio Nashixwa, Kennedy Amutenya and Muzeu in the starting line-up.

Also earning their first caps were Ngero Katua, Routh, Damaseb and Tjipenandjambi Karuuombe.

Namibia will now play the semi-finals on Friday against the winner of the quarter-finals between Mozambique and South Africa slated for Wednesday.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency