Namibia national football team

Namibia
Nickname(s)	Brave Warriors
Association	Namibia Football Association
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach	Bobby Samaria
Captain	Petrus Shitembi
Most caps	Petrus Shitembi (70)
Top scorer	Rudolf Bester (13)
Home stadium	Independence Stadium
FIFA code	NAM
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	106 1 (16 September 2021)
Highest	68 (November 1998)
Lowest	167 (July 2006)
First international
	South-West Africa 0–1 Angola ; (Namibia; 16 May 1989)
Biggest win
	Namibia 8–2 Benin ; (Windhoek, Namibia; 15 July 2000) ; Namibia 6–0 Botswana ; (Windhoek, Namibia; 25 August 1996)
Biggest defeat
	Egypt 7–1 Namibia ; (Cairo, Egypt; 8 November 1996) ; Egypt 8–2 Namibia ; (Alexandria, Egypt; 13 July 2001)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	3 (first in 1998)
Best result	Group stage (1998, 2008, 2019)
African Nations Championship
Appearances	2 (first in 2018)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2018)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances	19 (first in 1997)
Best result	Champions (2015)
show Medal record
COSAFA Cup

The Namibia national football team represents Namibia in men's international football and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association.^[3] They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cups but have made three appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

History[]

Namibia played its first international under the name South-West Africa on 16 May 1989 at home against neighbouring Angola and lost 1–0. On 23 March 1990, only two days after gaining independence from South Africa, they hosted neighbour Zimbabwe and lost 5–1. On 7 June, they lost a home friendly 2–1 to Mauritius. Namibia's next contests were played in Lesotho, where they lost 2–0 to their hosts on 1 August 1992, but gained their first ever draw in a 2–2 tie against the same opposition the very next day. Namibia's first win came on 1 July 1994 in a 1–0 victory away over Botswana in a friendly. On 17 May 1998, Namibia played their first match outside of Africa and against non-African opposition, losing 2–1 in a friendly in France against Saudi Arabia.^[4]

Namibia has made three appearances in the African Cup of Nations, going out in the first round in all three competitions. In 1998, Namibia lost to Ivory Coast 4–3 and drew Angola 3–3 before losing to South Africa 4–1. In 2008, Namibia lost to Morocco 5–1 and to Ghana 1–0 but drew Guinea 1–1 in their last match. In 2019, they lost all their group games scoring only a single goal. They lost to Morocco 1–0, and suffered the same loss to South Africa before losing to Ivory Coast 4–1.^{[citation needed]}

The most capped player of the Brave Warriors is retired midfielder Ronald Ketjijere with 74 caps while Rudolf Bester is the all-time top goalscorers with 13 goals.^[5]^[6]

Competitive record[]

World Cup record[]

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1990	Part of South Africa								Part of South Africa
1994	Did not qualify								4	0	0	4	0	12
1998									8	2	2	4	9	18
2002									10	1	3	6	7	27
2006									2	0	1	1	1	4
2010									6	2	0	4	7	12
2014									8	3	2	3	10	4
2018									4	1	1	2	3	5
2022	To be determined
2026	To be determined
Total	-	0/21	-	-	-	-	-	-	42	9	9	24	37	82

Africa Cup of Nations record[]

Africa Cup of Nations record
Host nation(s) / Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1990	Part of South Africa
1992 to 1994	Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify
1998	Group stage	14	3	0	1	2	7	11
2000	Did not qualify
2002
2004
2006
2008	Group stage	10	3	0	1	2	2	7
2010	Did not qualify
2012
2013
2015
2017
2019	Group stage	23rd	3	0	0	3	1	6
2021	Did not qualify
2023	To be determined
Total	Group stage	3/33	9	0	2	7	10	24

African Nations Championship record[]

African Nations Championship
Appearances: 2
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2009	Did not qualify
2011
2014
2016
2018	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	1	1	3	3
2020	Group stage	15th	3	0	1	2	0	4
2022	To be determined
Total	Quarter-finals	2/5	7	2	2	3	3	7

COSAFA Cup[]

COSAFA Cup Record
Year	Rank	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1997	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1998	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1999	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2001	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2002	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2003	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2004	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2005	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2006	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2007	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2008	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2009	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2013	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0/19	-	-	-	-	-	-

Head-to-head record against other nations[]

Updated on 17 November 2019 after match against Guinea^[7]

Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Algeria	4	0	0	4	0	7	−7
Angola	13	0	6	7	9	19	−10
Benin	2	1	0	1	8	4	+4
Botswana	19	2	10	7	18	19	−1
Burkina Faso	3	0	0	3	2	11	−9
Burundi	2	1	0	1	4	4	0
Chad	3	2	0	1	4	4	0
Cameroon	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5
Comoros	5	3	1	1	8	2	+6
Congo	4	1	0	3	1	7	−6
Djibouti	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4
DR Congo	3	1	1	1	7	4	+3
Egypt	6	0	1	5	6	23	−17
Eritrea	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3
Ethiopia	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2
Gabon	2	0	2	0	2	2	0
Gambia	4	2	1	1	5	5	0
Ghana	2	0	0	2	0	2	−2
Guinea	8	0	2	6	2	15	−13
Guinea-Bissau	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1
India	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Ivory Coast	6	2	1	3	8	13	−5
Kenya	6	4	0	2	5	3	+2
Lebanon	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Lesotho	11	4	4	3	12	12	0
Liberia	1	1	2	1	2	2	0
Libya	2	1	0	1	2	2	0
Madagascar	7	3	1	3	9	10	−1
Malawi	15	8	3	4	20	15	+5
Mali	4	1	1	2	3	5	−2
Mauritius	4	2	0	2	5	4	+1
Morocco	7	0	1	6	2	15	−13
Mozambique	17	9	5	3	24	13	+11
Niger	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
Nigeria	4	0	1	3	1	8	−7
Rwanda	4	0	3	1	3	6	−3
Saudi Arabia	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2
Senegal	5	0	0	5	1	16	−15
Seychelles	6	3	3	0	12	4	+8
South Africa	9	1	2	6	8	17	−9
Eswatini	8	1	4	3	7	9	−2
Tanzania	3	0	2	1	1	3	−2
Tunisia	3	0	0	3	1	8	−7
Zambia	20	2	10	8	11	26	−15
Zimbabwe	12	6	0	6	23	25	−2
Total	253	67	69	117	252	362	−110

Results and fixtures[]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win Draw Loss

2020[]

8 October 2020 Friendly	South Africa	1–1	Namibia	showPhokeng, South Africa
	Singh 19'	Report	Iimbondi 55'	Stadium: Royal Bafokeng Stadium Referee: Norman Matemera (Zimbabwe)

13 November 2020 (2020-11-13) 2021 AFCONQ	Mali	1–0	Namibia	showBamako, Mali
21:00 UTC+2	Toure 33' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)

17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2021 AFCONQ	Namibia	1–2	Mali	showWindhoek, Namibia
21:00 UTC+2	Koïta 12' Doumbia 37'	Report	Kambindu 39'	Stadium: Sam Nujoma Stadium Referee: Ali Mohamed Adelaid (Comoros)

2021[]

28 March 2021 (2021-03-28) 2021 AFCONQ	Namibia	2–1	Guinea	showWindhoek, Namibia
15:00 UTC+2	Shalulie 45+2', 77'	Report	Kane 17'	Stadium: Sam Nujoma Stadium Referee: Norman Matemera (Zimbabwe)

7 July 2021 (2021-07-07) 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Senegal	1–2	Namibia	showPort Elizabeth, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2	17'	Report	Papama 13' Kambindu 50'	Stadium: Wolfson Stadium Referee: Antonio Caluassi Dungula (Angola)

11 July 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Namibia	2–0	Zimbabwe	showPort Elizabeth, South Africa
14:00 UTC+2	D. Fredricks 10' 52' 70' (o.g.) A. Iimbondi 76' E. Kambindu 86'	Report	81' 85'	Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Referee: Audrick Nkole (Zambia)

13 July 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Malawi	1–1	Namibia	showPort Elizabeth, South Africa
12:00 UTC+2	73'	Report	E. Kambindu 53'	Stadium: Wolfson Stadium Referee: Akhona Makalima (South Africa)

14 July 2021 COSAFA Cup Group B	Mozambique	1–0	Namibia	showPort Elizabeth, South Africa
12:00 UTC+2	28' 71' 73' 80'	Report	Kambindu 9' Gebhardt 15' Fredericks 45+1'	Stadium: Wolfson Stadium Referee: Osiase Koto (Lesotho)

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following 25 players were selected for 2021 COSAFA Cup .^[8]

Caps and goals as of 14 July 2021 after the game against Mozambique.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Lloyd Kazapua	(1989-03-25) 25 March 1989 (age 32)	26	0	Cape Umoya United
1GK		(1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 21)	2	0	Black Africa

2DF		(1996-07-15) 15 July 1996 (age 25)	0	0	Gaborone United
2DF	Larry Horaeb	(1991-11-12) 12 November 1991 (age 29)	59	0	Tura Magic
2DF	Ananias Gebhardt	(1988-09-08) 8 September 1988 (age 33)	50	2	Baroka FC
2DF	Immanuel Heita	(1992-04-20) 20 April 1992 (age 29)	14	0	Black Africa
2DF	Denzil Haoseb	(1991-02-25) 25 February 1991 (age 30)	69	0	Polokwane City
2DF		(1994-02-03) 3 February 1994 (age 27)	16	0	African Stars
2DF	Emilio Martin	(1990-08-15) 15 August 1990 (age 31)	19	0	Black Africa
2DF		(1999-10-09) 9 October 1999 (age 21)	15	0	Eleven Arrows
2DF	Charles Hambira	(1990-06-03) 3 June 1990 (age 31)	18	2	Unattached

3MF	Dynamo Fredericks	(1992-04-04) 4 April 1992 (age 29)	36	1	Black Africa
3MF		(1994-05-26) 26 May 1994 (age 27)	5	0	African Stars
3MF		(1995-07-10) 10 July 1995 (age 26)	3	0	Black Africa
3MF	Absalom Iimbondi	(1991-10-11) 11 October 1991 (age 29)	44	4	United Africa Tigers
3MF	Marcel Papama	(1996-04-28) 28 April 1996 (age 25)	22	1	African Stars
3MF	Prins Tjiueza	(2002-03-12) 12 March 2002 (age 19)	2	0	Blue Waters
3MF	Willy Stephanus	(1991-06-26) 26 June 1991 (age 30)	53	3	Lusaka Dynamos
3MF	Alfeus Handura	(1993-08-01) 1 August 1993 (age 28)	10	0	African Stars
3MF		(1990-02-17) 17 February 1990 (age 31)	10	0	Unattached

4FW	Elmo Kambindu	(1993-05-26) 26 May 1993 (age 28)	16	7	Mighty Gunners
4FW	Joslin Kamatuka	(1991-07-27) 27 July 1991 (age 30)	15	2	Baroka
4FW	Isaskar Gurirab	(1998-01-03) 3 January 1998 (age 23)	12	2	Life Fighters
4FW		(1991-07-22) 22 July 1991 (age 30)	12	0	Welwalo Adigrat University
4FW		(1992-05-09) 9 May 1992 (age 29)	3	0	Tura Magic

Recent call-ups[]

The following players have been called up for Namibia in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Virgil Vries	(1989-03-29) 29 March 1989 (age 32)	38	0	Moroka Swallows F.C.	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
GK		(1994-09-05) 5 September 1994 (age 27)	7	0	Unattached	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
GK		(1989-08-15) 15 August 1989 (age 32)	4	0	African Stars	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021

DF		(1991-05-24) 24 May 1991 (age 30)	22	0	Zanaco	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
DF	Ryan Nyambe	(1997-12-03) 3 December 1997 (age 23)	7	0	Blackburn Rovers	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
DF	Riaan Hanamub	(1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 26)	28	0	Chippa United F.C.	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
DF		(2002-05-27) 27 May 2002 (age 19)	0	0	Tura Magic	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
DF	Vitapi Ngaruka	(1995-10-16) 16 October 1995 (age 25)	16	1	Black Africa	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
DF	Chris Katjiukua	(1986-10-25) 25 October 1986 (age 34)	36	2	Black Leopards	v. South Africa, 8 October 2020
DF		(1990-02-01) 1 February 1990 (age 31)	0	0	Eleven Arrows	v. South Africa, 8 October 2020

MF	Deon Hotto	(1990-10-29) 29 October 1990 (age 30)	55	10	Orlando Pirates	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
MF	Wangu Gome	(1993-02-13) 13 February 1993 (age 28)	33	0	Alashkert	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
MF	Manfred Starke	(1991-02-21) 21 February 1991 (age 30)	7	1	FSV Zwickau	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
MF	Petrus Shitembi	(1992-05-11) 11 May 1992 (age 29)	70	4	Terengganu FC	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
MF	Gustav Isaak	(1989-03-08) 8 March 1989 (age 32)	2	0	African Stars	v. South Africa, 8 October 2020
MF		(1993-06-15) 15 June 1993 (age 28)	7	0	United Africa Tigers	v. South Africa, 8 October 2020

FW	Peter Shalulile	(1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 28)	39	10	Mamelodi Sundowns	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
FW		(1993-04-12) 12 April 1993 (age 28)	3	0	Black Africa	v. Guinea, 28 March 2021
^DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player has retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended from the national team.

Player records[]

As of 14 July 2021

Players in bold are still active with Namibia.

Most appearances
Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Petrus Shitembi	70	4	2011–present
2	Denzil Haoseb	69	0	2011–present
3	Ronald Ketjijere	68	2	2010–2019
4	Johannes Hindjou	63	10	1996–2005
5	Mohamed Ouseb	60	3	1994–2004
6	Silvester Goraseb	59	7	1994–2002
6	Larry Horaeb	59	0	2011–present
8	Ricardo Mannetti	56	1	1993–2003
9	Deon Hotto	55	10	2013–present
9	Robert Nauseb	55	6	1997–2007

Top goalscorers
Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Rudolph Bester	13	46	0.28	2004–2014
2	Gervatius Urikhob	11	40	0.28	1993–2003
3	Peter Shalulile	10	39	0.26	2014–present
	Deon Hotto	10	54	0.19	2013–present
	Johannes Hindjou	10	63	0.16	1996–2005
6	Benson Shilongo	9	32	0.28	2011–present
6	Eliphas Shivute	9	37	0.24	1993–2001
8	Hendrik Somaeb	8	31	0.28	2011–2019
8	Ruben van Wyk	8	33	0.24	1994–2002
10	Elmo Kambindu	7	16	0.44	2019–present
	Razundara Tjikuzu	7	30	0.23	1997–2011
	Sadney Urikhob	7	33	0.21	2011–2019
	Quinton Jacobs	7	52	0.13	1998–2010
	Silvester Goraseb	7	59	0.12	1994–2002

Previous squads[]

Africa Cup of Nations Squads

1998 Africa Cup of Nations squad
2008 Africa Cup of Nations squad
2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad

Honours[]

COSAFA Cup

Winners: 2015
Runners-up: 1997, 1999

References[]

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
^ "Namibian football on the rise – ESPN FC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
^ "Namibia International Matches". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
^ "Senior Men (Brave Warriors)". nfa.org.na. Namibia Football Association. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
^ "Ketjijere aiming to go out with a bang". namibian.com.na. The Namibian. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Namibia". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
^ "Samaria names final Warriors squad". The Namibian.

External sources[]

Namibia at FIFA.com
Namibia Football Association official website

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.

[3] "Namibian football on the rise – ESPN FC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

[4] "Namibia International Matches". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

[5] "Senior Men (Brave Warriors)". nfa.org.na. Namibia Football Association. Retrieved 1 June 2015.

[6] "Ketjijere aiming to go out with a bang". namibian.com.na. The Namibian. Retrieved 29 May 2019.

[7] "World Football Elo Ratings: Namibia". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 24 October 2018.

[8] "Samaria names final Warriors squad". The Namibian.

[1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

show v t National football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
¹ Associate member of CAF but not member of FIFA

show v t 2008 Africa Cup of Nations finalists
Champions	Egypt
Runners-up	Cameroon
Third place	Ghana
Fourth place	Ivory Coast
Eliminated in quarter-finals	Angola Guinea Nigeria Tunisia
Eliminated in group stage	Benin Mali Morocco Namibia Senegal South Africa Sudan Zambia
Qualification Squads

show v t National sports teams of Namibia
Basketball Cricket M W U19 Football M M U17 M U20 W Inline hockey M W Netball Rugby union M M U20 M7 Tennis M W
Olympics Paralympics Commonwealth Games African Games