Brave Five struggle in AFCON opener against Libya

Futsal
The Brave Five endured a heavy defeat at the hands of Libya’s Mediterranean Knights in the first leg of their Futsal Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in Swakopmund.
Brian Munango
  • 12 Hours Ago

Namibia’s senior men’s futsal team, the Brave Five, endured a heavy 11–3 defeat at the hands of Libya’s Mediterranean Knights in the first leg of their Futsal Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in Swakopmund.

Libya dominated from the outset, going into the break with a 4–2 lead. Namibia’s goals in the first half came from Ichshaun Li Yandro von Francois and George Haikali, while the Mediterranean Knights struck through Ali Shoshan, Ibrahim Lemhammel, Feras Bukhshim and Ahmed Ezwai.

The second half saw Libya extend their advantage, with Ibrahim Lemhammel completing a hat-trick, Mohamed Said grabbing a brace, and Abdulhakim Rashid and Ahmed Alyumni each adding a goal. Namibia’s only goal after the interval was scored by Luis Francisco Salomao Solunga.

Despite the setback, Brave Five captain remained upbeat, stressing the importance of the second leg in Libya.

“Indeed, it was a tough game. It’s not the result we were expecting, but it’s not yet the end. This was only the first leg and we still have the second leg to face. We will analyse our mistakes and work on fixing them ahead of the return fixture,” he said.

Namibia will now travel to Libya for the second leg, where they will need a strong performance to overturn the eight-goal deficit and keep their AFCON qualification hopes alive.