Young Warriors reach COSAFA Cup semi-final
Namibia’s Young Warriors completed a perfect Group A campaign with a 3-0 victory over Seychelles on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the 2026 COSAFA Under-20 Cup.
Namibia topped Group A with nine points after winning all three matches without conceding a goal, producing another disciplined display against Seychelles.
Rashid Naobeb opened the scoring after 14 minutes when his twin brother Shahid Naobeb played a long ball into the path of his twin, who calmly slotted the ball past the Seychelles goalkeeper.
Namibia went into the break 1-0 ahead, before increasing their advantage in the second half.
Seychelles missed an indirect free-kick opportunity in the 58th minute, and three minutes later Namibia punished them at the other end.
Midfielder Mateus Ashitenda met a cleared cross with a powerful volley that found the bottom-right corner to make it 2-0.
Michael Kandume then added Namibia’s third goal to complete another convincing victory and seal their place in the last four.
Shahid Naobeb was named player of the match for his influential performance.
The victory means Namibia finish the group stage with three wins, nine points, three goals scored and no goals conceded.
Head coach Lucky Shipanga praised his players for making history, but admitted he was not completely satisfied with the tactical execution.
“It’s a great performance because we won maximum points and won our group, which is very good for the boys. They wrote their own record or history,” Shipanga said.
He explained that he had used the group match to assess his squad ahead of the semi-finals, with some of his more experienced players being rested.
“When it comes to tactical play, I am not happy with the play because I brought in another team just to check also. I knew Seychelles and Mauritius are almost the same, but not better than us,” he said.
“All I wanted was goal scoring, because that makes the difference. I have other players who are there, the most experienced kids that I reserved for the semi-final.”
Shipanga said the achievement was particularly significant given Namibia’s record in the competition.
“It’s never happened in history that Namibia won all their three games. Today was really a game for them. We dedicated it to our people and our country, so I’m happy for that.”
Namibia now turn their attention to the semi-finals, where they will look to continue their unbeaten and goalless run as they pursue a place in the final and qualification for the 2027 CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.
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