Namibia will be featuring in their 3rd Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament and first since 2008. They have never progressed past the group stages.
In the 2019 edition, Namibia is in Group D alongside Morocco, Ivory Coast and South Africa.
Namibia is one of the few African countries who took time to embrace the Africa Cup of nations.
The Brave Warriors did not take part in the qualifiers for all AFCONS between 1957 and 1994.
Their first attempt at qualification came in 1996 but they failed to reach the finals which were hosted in South Africa.
However, the Brave Warriors were second time lucky as they qualified for Burkina Faso 1998.
At the finals, they were placed in Group C alongside Ivory Coast, South Africa and Angola.
The first game was a spirited 3-4 loss to the Ivorians, followed by a 3-3 draw against Angola. Needing a win to reach the quarter finals, Namibia would eventually lose 1-4 to South Africa. The result meant Namibia finished bottom of the group with only a point and were subsequently eliminated from the tournament.
In the next four editions between 2000 and 2006, Namibia failed to qualify for the finals tournaments.
They would however return for the 2008 finals in Ghana where they were placed in Group A alongside the hosts, Guinea and Morocco.
The Brave Warriors once again finished bottom of the group with only one point after losing to Morocco and Ghana and then drawing with Guinea.
This was the second time that Namibia qualified for the finals but finished bottom of their group.
From 2010 to 2017, Namibia attempted but always failed to qualify for the AFCON finals’ tournament.
Coach
Ricardo Manneti
Mannetti is a 44 year old former midfielder who has been Namibia’s head coach since 2015.
He played as a midfielder in South Africa for Santos.
For Namibia, Monneti featured for them between 1994 to 2003, including at the 1998 AFCON.
He led Namibia to the COSAFA Cup in 2015, before resigning.
He was re-appointed coach in September 2015 after patching things up with the Namibia Football Association.
Star Player
Benson Shilongo
Shilongo is a 27 year old striker who plays for Egyptian side Ismaily.
He has featured for several clubs on the African continent, United Africa Tigers, Gaborone United, Platinum Stars, Alassiouty Sport, Smoah and Ismaily.
For Namibia, Shilongo debuted in 2012 and has so far scored 9 goals in 24 games.
Projection: Group Stage
Namibia’s fixtures at AFCON 2019
-Namibia vs Morocco, 24nd June
-South Africa vs Namibia, 28th June
-Namibia vs Ivory Coast, 01th July
Namibia’s 23 man squad for AFCON 2019
Ratanda Mbazuvara, Loydt Kazapua, Max Mbaeva, Ryan Nyambe, Larry Horaeb, Denzil Haoseb, Ivan Kamberipa, Charles Hambira, Riaan Hanamub, Ananias Gebhardt, Absalom Iimbondi, Willy Stephanus, Petrus Shitembi, Ronald Ketjijere, Dynamo Fredericks, Marcel Papama, Manfred Starke, Deon Hotto, Itamunua Keimuine, Benson Shilongo, Peter Shalulile, Joslyn Kamatuka and Isaskar Gurirab.
