COSAFA Women’s Championship: ‘Nobody gave Namibia a chance’ – Kakuva

Namibia senior women’s team coach Lesley Kakuva has disclosed the secret behind their upset of COSAFA Women’s Championship outgoing champions Zambia in South Africa on Friday.

Speaking after stunning the Copperbelt Queens with a 1-0 victory at Old Peter Mokaba in Polokwane in the semifinal match, the coach attributed their heroics to a sound game-plan and self-belief.

🇳🇦𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟!🔥

The Brave Gladiators are through to the COSAFA Cup 2026 final, beating Zambia 1-0 in the semi-finals thanks to Juliana Blou’s 89th-minute goal.

Zenatha Coleman – player of the match.

We will face South Africa or Zimbabwe. pic.twitter.com/xG0aYEG7LX

— 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐚 🇳🇦 (@FootyNamibia) February 27, 2026

“Very interesting. That is the power of the game of football. Sometimes nobody gives you a chance, but then this was a very important game for us. We know how great Zambia is. We have played them for quite some time. We came up with a very good strategy. It was important that sometimes you play to your strength,” Kakuva said.

The Brave Gladiators explained how he set up his girls to execute the game-plan emphasing why tactical discipline in defence was critical to the success.

“Coming back to the game, our motto today was to let them have the ball, but it was also important for us to have tactical discipline. That is what we did. Our game-plan was to work on the transitional moments then we exploited it to the maximum. I am very happy for my girls. It is our first COSAFA final,” he said.

Substitute Juliana Blou’s 90th-minute goal earned Namibia the shock 1-0 victory over Zambia to qualify for the final. It is the first time that Kavuta’s girls have reached the final of the regional championship.

How South Africa qualified for the final

In another semifinal, South Africa’s Banyana Banyana overpowered Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors 4-2 on post-match penalties on Friday to book the final place.

The Brave Gladiators will face Banyana Banyana in the final at the same Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, bringing the curtain down on the 11-member regional women’s football championship which has returned after a year-long absence.