COSAFA U-20: Hosts Namibia earn first points in men’s tournament with rousing victory over Zimbabwe

The COSAFA U-20 Championship began its second round of fixtures from the group stage in both the men’s and women’s tournaments on Sunday and there was plenty of entertainment with host nation Namibia earning victories in both tournaments.

Rashid Naobeb’s brace powered the hosts to a 3-2 victory over Zimbabwe, moving Namibia back into contention in their group. Naobeb struck the match winner in the second half after a first half that was chaotic but entertaining for the home supporters.

Namibia got off to a dream start with two goals inside the opening fifteen minutes but Zimbabwe responded with two goals over a five-minute span to leave the teams level at halftime. Naobeb struck from distance when a long throw-in fell kindly to send the Namibian supporters into delirium.

In the earlier match from Group A, opening day winners Malawi and Angola shared the points in a 1-1 draw. Malawi star Mrisho Mhango opened the scoring in the 17th minute but their Lusophone opponents found an equalizer in the final seconds of the first half to leave the two teams level at the top of the table.

In the women’s tournament, the positive results continued with the Namibia women’s team defeating Zimbabwe 1-0. Ontheedite Tokwane’s match winner moved the Namibian team into second place in Group A.

Botswana are the team to beat in the group, however, after making it two wins from two games with a 1-0 result over Malawi. Botswana have secured their place in the semifinals with one game left to spare.

Men’s Tournament

Sunday Results

Malawi 1-1 Angola

Namibia 3-2 Zimbabwe

Group A Table

Women’s Tournament

Sunday Results

Botswana 1-0 Malawi

Namibia 1-0 Zimbabwe

Group A Table

The top two teams qualify for the semifinals.

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