• Football

Warriors out for vengeance against Angola

• 1 Day Ago 05 June 2025

The Brave Warriors’ Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup journey begins today when they face old foes Angola at 18:00 at the Free State Stadium in South Africa.

The country has put behind it the 5-0 humiliation they endured at the hands of their northern neighbours, Angola, in 2024.

Head coach Collin Benjamin has now fielded a different squad, with some players returning once again to Southern Africa’s regional competition.

They have been drawn in a group alongside Lesotho, Angola and Malawi, in what is expected to be one of the most exciting groups of the tournament.

Benjamin is accompanied by a squad of 23 players as they attempt to win the regional tournament Namibia last won in 2015.

"We have been preparing well and are aware of the threats the team faces in the group, but we are going out there to give our best as a nation.

"I am confident in the team I have selected. Even though we have a few key players absent, that will not make a difference given the depth we have," Benjamin said.

One of the players returning to the national team after a spell without a call-up, Isaskar Gurirab, is optimistic about Namibia’s chances against Angola.

“We have not been doing that well against Angola, but we are looking forward to changing our fortunes.

“We are striving and pushing to change the results this time around in order to bring the Cosafa Cup home,” Gurirab said.

Angola and Namibia have met on six occasions, with Namibia failing to beat their rivals in all six encounters.

Brave Warriors have managed three draws against Angola, while losing the other three.

Namibia and Angola were also in the same group at last year’s tournament, playing out a 0-0 stalemate before Namibia lost 5-0 to the same side in the final.

Malawi and Lesotho will play the first game in Group B on Thursday, 5 June, at 15:00.

The country’s second match will be against Malawi on 8 June at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium at 15:00, before closing off their group stage campaign with a match against Lesotho on 10 June.

There are a total of four groups, as 14 teams battle for the top honours of the competition.

The group stage will be played up until 11 June, with the semi-finals on 13 June. The winner of Group A will face the top side in Group D, while the winner of Group B will face the leading side in Group C.

There will be a third-place play-off on 15 June, with the final of the competition later that same afternoon at 15:00 CAT (13:00 GMT).



GROUP B FIXTURES

05/06, 15:00: Malawi vs Lesotho – Toyota Stadium

05/06, 18:00: Angola vs Namibia – Toyota Stadium

08/06, 12:00: Angola vs Lesotho – Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium

08/06, 15:00: Namibia vs Malawi – Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium

10/06, 18:00: Namibia vs Lesotho – Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium

10/06, 18:00: Malawi vs Angola – Toyota Stadium



GROUPS

Group A: South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zimbabwe

Group B: Angola, Namibia, Malawi, Lesotho

Group C: Morocco, Madagascar, Eswatini

Group D: Zambia, Comoros, Botswana