Namibia finish seventh at World Skate Championships

Inline hockey
Senior men recover from quarter-final heartbreak to end campaign with commanding victory over Argentina.
Brian Munango
  • 1 Day Ago 20 October 2026

Namibia’s senior men’s inline hockey team finished seventh at the 2026 World Skate Championships after producing a strong final performance to beat Argentina 4-0 on Saturday, 17 October.


The Namibians ended their campaign on a high, outshooting Argentina 25-7 in a dominant display. Alex Wirtz scored twice, while Wim van der Plas and Max Finkeldey added a goal each. Finkeldey was named the most valuable player.

Namibia’s tournament featured impressive victories, narrow defeats and a series of hard-fought encounters against some of the world’s leading teams.


Their group-stage campaign began with an emphatic 8-0 victory over Switzerland on 11 October. Amandus Röttcher scored a hat-trick and added an assist, while six different Namibian players found the net. Both goalkeepers recorded clean sheets in their respective halves.

However, Namibia suffered a 5-1 defeat against the United States later that day, with Röttcher scoring their only goal. They then went down 4-3 to Slovakia on 12 October despite a spirited late comeback.

Wim van der Plas scored twice, while Max Finkeldey added another goal as Namibia narrowly missed out on an equaliser.


Namibia responded with a dramatic victory over France in their final round-robin match on 13 October. The teams were locked at 4-4 after regulation time and a goalless three-on-three overtime period, sending the match to a shootout.

After both goalkeepers stopped a combined 15 consecutive attempts, Sean Liechti scored with a skilful move to secure the win for Namibia. Max Finkeldey, Josua Zeferinu and Liechti scored in regulation time, while Ari van der Plas was named most valuable player.

Namibia continued into the knockout stages and faced Czechia, the world’s second-ranked team, in the quarter-finals on 15 October. The match ended 3-3 after regulation time, with Wim van der Plas, captain Amandus Röttcher and JW Coetzee scoring for Namibia.

Despite dominating the 10-minute overtime period and creating several chances, Namibia could not find a winner. Czechia eventually prevailed 4-3 in the shootout.


Namibia then suffered a 9-5 defeat against Russia in a placement match on 16 October. Christiaan Coetzee contributed a goal and three assists, while Röttcher scored twice.

The team regrouped for their final match against Argentina, delivering a convincing clean-sheet victory to secure seventh place.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the semi-finals, Namibia’s performances against leading opposition and their strong finish provided encouraging signs for the future of the senior men’s programme.