Young Warriors finish group stage unbeaten

 Namibia’s Young Warriors secured top spot in Group A of the Cosafa U/20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after defeating Seychelles 3-0 in Mozambique on Wednesday. 

The victory saw Namibia finish the group stage with nine points after winning all three of their matches without conceding a goal. 

Rashid Naobeb opened the scoring in the 13th minute after receiving an assist from his twin brother, Shahid Naobeb, to give Namibia an early advantage. 

The Young Warriors continued to control proceedings and doubled their lead in the second half when Mateus Ashitenda found the back of the net in the 61st minute. 

Michael Kandume completed the scoring in the 76th minute to secure Namibia’s third consecutive victory of the qualifiers. 

Shahid Naobeb was named Man of the Match following his performance, which included the assist for his brother’s opening goal. 

Speaking after the match, Young Warriors head coach Lucky Shipanga expressed his satisfaction with the team’s progress through the group stage, particularly their defensive record. 

“We have a clean sheet, which is a very good record for the team. We dedicate this to all our people in Namibia because of their support and I’m really happy.” 

Despite the convincing scoreline, Shipanga said he was not fully satisfied with the team’s performance after making changes to give some of the younger players exposure. 

“I was not happy with the changes, because they didn’t give me what I wanted. For the first time, they knew I was not happy because that is not the type of play that we always do.” 

The coach, however, thanked his players for securing the victory and said he was proud of what they had achieved in the group stage. 

The Young Warriors will now turn their attention to the semi-finals, where they will face the best runner-up on Friday for a place in the final. 

-hnalupe@nepc.com.na 

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