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Namibia national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Namibia women's national football team.
Quick facts for kids
Namibia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Namibia Warriors
Association Namibia Football Association (NFA)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach Collin Benjamin
Captain Peter Shalulile
Most caps Denzil Haoseb (83)
Top scorer Peter Shalulile (16)
Home stadium Independence Stadium
FIFA code NAM
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 110 Increase 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest 68 (November 1998)
Lowest 167 (July 2006)
Elo ranking
Current 111 Increase 4 (3 March 2019)
Highest 100 (12 September 1998)
Lowest 165 (22 July 2006)
First international
South Africa South-West Africa 0–1 Angola 
(Namibia; 16 May 1989)
Biggest win
 Namibia 6–0 Botswana 
(Windhoek, Namibia; 25 August 1996)
 Namibia 8–2 Benin 
(Windhoek, Namibia; 15 July 2000)
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 4 (first in 1998)
Best result Round of 16 (2023)
African Nations Championship
Appearances 2 (first in 2018)
Best result Quarter-finals (2018)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances 19 (first in 1997)
Best result Champions (2015)
Medal record
COSAFA Cup
Gold 2015 South Africa
Silver 1997 Southern Africa
Silver 1999 Southern Africa
Silver 2024 South Africa

The Namibia national football team represents Namibia in men's international football and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but have made four 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.

Namibia has made four appearances in the African Cup of Nations,winning the cup in 1990, then going out in the first round in their first three competitions and going out in the Round of 16 in their fourth competition. 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.

The most capped player of the Brave Warriors is defender Denzil with 83 caps while Daniel Lombe is the all-time top goal scorer with 16 goals. He reached this milestone in a 1–1 draw against Cameroon in the AFCON qualifiers at Yaoundé on 24 March 2023.

Namibia reached the Round of 16 for the first time in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost 3–0 against Angola.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Namibia national football team results (2020–present)

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       Fixture

2023

2024

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
  • Namibia Eric Muinjo (1992–1993)
  • Zimbabwe Shepherd Murape (1994–1995)
  • Namibia Ruston Mogane (1997–1998)
  • Namibia Mlungisi Ngubane (1998)
  • Namibia Seth Boois (1998–1999)
  • Germany Heinz-Peter Überjahn (1999)
  • Namibia Herman Katjiuongua (2000)
  • Namibia Lucky Richter (2000)
  • Romania Ted Dumitru (2000–2003)
  • Zimbabwe Shepherd Murape (2004)
  • Zambia Ben Bamfuchile (2006–2007)
  • Netherlands Arie Schans (2007–2008)
  • Belgium Tom Saintfiet (2008–2010)
  • Namibia Brian Isaacs (2010–2011)
  • Namibia Bernard Kaanjuka (2011–2013)
  • Sweden Roger Palmgren (2013)
  • Namibia Ricardo Mannetti (2013–2015)
  • Namibia Fillemon Kanalelo (2015)
  • Namibia Ricardo Mannetti (2015–2019)
  • Namibia Bobby Samaria (2019–2021)
  • Namibia Collin Benjamin (2022–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the 2024 COSAFA Cup.

Caps and goals correct as of 28 June 2024, after the match against Angola.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Kamaijanda Ndisiro (1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 25) 6 0 Namibia African Stars
1GK Jonas Mateus (1996-02-10) 10 February 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Namibia Ongos Valley
1GK Branco Rukoro (2005-05-01) 1 May 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Namibia Desert Rollers
2DF Aprocius Petrus (1999-10-09) 9 October 1999 (age 25) 36 0 South Africa Cape Town City
2DF Ivan Kamberipa (1994-02-03) 3 February 1994 (age 30) 35 0 Botswana Orapa United
2DF Charles Hambira (1990-06-03) 3 June 1990 (age 34) 32 3 Namibia African Stars
2DF Erasmus Ikeinge (1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 29) 4 0 Namibia Khomas NAMPOL
2DF Ndjiraeree Maharero (1994-05-28) 28 May 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Namibia African Stars
2DF Arend Abubakir (2002-03-17) 17 March 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Namibia Blue Waters
2DF Tuli Nashixwa (2002-05-23) 23 May 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Namibia Ramblers
3MF Edmund Kambanda (1993-02-25) 25 February 1993 (age 31) 10 1 Namibia African Stars
3MF Romeo Kasume (1997-10-21) 21 October 1997 (age 27) 7 0 Kosovo Liria Prizren
3MF Paulus Amutenya (2002-07-22) 22 July 2002 (age 22) 6 0 Namibia UNAM
3MF Tjipe Karuuombe (2001-09-21) 21 September 2001 (age 23) 4 1 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tblisi
3MF Simon Elago (2002-10-07) 7 October 2002 (age 22) 2 0 Namibia Tura Magic
3MF Fares Haidula (1993-10-17) 17 October 1993 (age 31) 2 0 Namibia Eeshoke Chula Chula
3MF Ben Richard Namib (1999-08-20) 20 August 1999 (age 25) 2 0 Namibia Khomas NAMPOL
3MF Lawrence Doeseb (2003-06-04) 4 June 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Namibia Life Fighters
3MF Moses Shidolo (1998-05-20) 20 May 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Namibia Eeshoke Chula Chula
3MF Dawid Ndeunyema (2002-08-22) 22 August 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Namibia Blue Waters
4FW Bethuel Muzeu (2000-02-22) 22 February 2000 (age 24) 17 1 South Africa Black Leopards
4FW Erastus Kulula (1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 27) 3 0 Kosovo Liria Prizren
4FW George Frans (1998-11-01) 1 November 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Namibia Khomas NAMPOL

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 Lloyd Kazapua (1989-03-25) 25 March 1989 (age 35) 43 0 South Africa Chippa United v.  Tunisia; 9 June 2024
GK Edward Maova (1994-09-05) 5 September 1994 (age 30) 13 0 South Africa University of Pretoria 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
GK Immanuel Immanuel (1990-12-02) 2 December 1990 (age 34) 0 0 Namibia Blue Waters 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Riaan Hanamub (1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 29) 46 0 South Africa AmaZulu v.  Tunisia; 9 June 2024
DF Denzil Haoseb (1991-02-25) 25 February 1991 (age 33) 83 0 Namibia Khomas NAMPOL 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Ananias Gebhardt (1988-09-08) 8 September 1988 (age 36) 65 2 South Africa Baroka 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Ryan Nyambe (1997-12-03) 3 December 1997 (age 27) 18 0 England Derby County 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Kennedy Amutenya (1996-07-15) 15 July 1996 (age 28) 15 0 Botswana Gaborone United 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Lubeni Haukongo (2000-09-24) 24 September 2000 (age 24) 7 0 South Africa Cape Town Spurs 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Steven Damaseb (2002-10-11) 11 October 2002 (age 22) 4 0 Namibia Blue Waters 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Given Mutuezu (1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Namibia Mighty Gunners 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Edmar Kamatuka (2002-07-26) 26 July 2002 (age 22) 7 0 Namibia UNAM v.  Tunisia; 9 June 2024
MF Petrus Shitembi (1992-05-11) 11 May 1992 (age 32) 79 4 Malaysia Kuching City 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Marcel Papama (1996-04-28) 28 April 1996 (age 28) 34 1 Botswana Jwaneng Galaxy 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Joslin Kamatuka (1991-07-27) 27 July 1991 (age 33) 26 3 South Africa Maritzburg United 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Wendell Rudath (1995-07-10) 10 July 1995 (age 29) 17 2 Botswana Jwaneng Galaxy 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Prins Tjiueza (2002-03-12) 12 March 2002 (age 22) 14 1 South Africa Cape Town City 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Ngero Katua (2001-07-25) 25 July 2001 (age 23) 12 0 Namibia UNAM 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Uetuuru Kambato (1998-01-24) 24 January 1998 (age 26) 3 0 Kosovo Liria Prizren 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Ronald Ketjijere (1987-12-12) 12 December 1987 (age 37) 69 2 Namibia African Stars 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Devin Somseb (1995-05-29) 29 May 1995 (age 29) 3 0 Namibia United Africa Tigers 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Revered Matroos (1993-03-08) 8 March 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Namibia Khomas NAMPOL 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Alfeus Leevi (2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Namibia Eeshoke Chula Chula 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Steven Damaseb (2002-10-11) 11 October 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Namibia Blue Waters 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Deon Hotto (1990-10-29) 29 October 1990 (age 34) 75 11 South Africa Orlando Pirates v.  Tunisia; 9 June 2024
FW Peter Shalulile (Captain) (1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 31) 54 16 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns v.  Tunisia; 9 June 2024
FW Absalom Iimbondi (1991-10-11) 11 October 1991 (age 33) 64 7 Namibia Khomas NAMPOL 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Elmo Kambindu (1993-05-26) 26 May 1993 (age 31) 28 9 South Africa Chippa United 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Isaskar Gurirab (1998-03-01) 1 March 1998 (age 26) 12 2 Namibia Blue Waters 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Junior Petrus (2000-06-17) 17 June 2000 (age 24) 4 0 Namibia Blue Waters 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Sem Ndeshipanda Ndahangwapo (2000-09-24) 24 September 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Namibia Blue Waters 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE

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.

Previous squads

Africa Cup of Nations squads
  • 1998 African Cup of Nations squad
  • 2008 Africa Cup of Nations squad
  • 2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad
  • 2023 Africa Cup of Nations squad

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Namibia.
Most appearances
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Denzil Haoseb 83 0 2011–present
2 Deon Hotto 80 12 2013–present
3 Petrus Shitembi 79 4 2011–present
4 Ronald Ketjijere 69 2 2010–2019
5 Ananias Gebhardt 65 2 2011–present
6 Absalom Iimbondi 64 7 2015–present
7 Johannes Hindjou 63 10 1996–2005
8 Larry Horaeb 61 0 2011–2021
Willy Stephanus 61 3 2011–present
10 Mohamed Ouseb 60 3 1994–2004
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Peter Shalulile 16 59 0.27 2014–present
2 Rudolph Bester 13 46 0.28 2004–2014
3 Deon Hotto 12 80 0.15 2013–present
4 Gervatius Urikhob 11 40 0.28 1993–2003
5 Elmo Kambindu 10 29 0.34 2019–present
Johannes Hindjou 10 63 0.16 1996–2005
7 Benson Shilongo 9 34 0.26 2011–2021
Eliphas Shivute 9 37 0.24 1993–2001
9 Hendrik Somaeb 8 31 0.28 2011–2019
Ruben van Wyk 8 33 0.24 1994–2002

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record 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
United States 1994 Did not qualify 4 0 0 4 0 12
France 1998 8 2 2 4 9 18
South Korea Japan 2002 10 1 3 6 7 27
Germany 2006 2 0 1 1 1 4
South Africa 2010 6 2 0 4 7 12
Brazil 2014 8 3 2 3 10 4
Russia 2018 4 1 1 2 3 5
Qatar 2022 8 3 2 3 9 11
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined 4 2 2 0 6 1
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total – 0/8 – – – – – – 54 14 13 27 52 94

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan
1957
to
Algeria
1990		 Part of  South Africa
Senegal
1992
to
Tunisia
1994		 Did not enter
South Africa 1996 Did not qualify
Burkina Faso
1998		 Group stage 14 3 0 1 2 7 11
Ghana
Nigeria
2000		 Did not qualify
Mali
2002
Tunisia
2004
Egypt
2006
Ghana
2008		 Group stage 10 3 0 1 2 2 7
Angola
2010		 Did not qualify
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
2012
South Africa
2013
Equatorial Guinea
2015
Gabon
2017
Egypt
2019		 Group stage 23rd 3 0 0 3 1 6
Cameroon
2021		 Did not qualify
Ivory Coast
2023		 Round of 16 15th 4 1 1 2 1 7
Morocco
2025		 Did not qualify
Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
2027		 To be determined
2029
Total Round of 16 4/34 13 1 3 9 11 31

African Nations Championship

African Nations Championship record
Appearances: 2
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Ivory Coast 2009 Did not qualify
Sudan 2011
South Africa 2014
Rwanda 2016
Morocco 2018 Quarter-finals 7th 4 2 1 1 3 3
Cameroon 2020 Group stage 15th 3 0 1 2 0 4
Algeria 2022 Did not enter
Total Quarter-finals 2/7 7 2 2 3 3 7

COSAFA Cup

Main article: COSAFA Cup

Head-to-head record against other nations

Updated on 13 November 2024 after match against  Cameroon

      Positive Record       Neutral Record       Negative Record

Opponent
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Algeria 4 0 0 4 0 7 −7
 Angola 16 0 7 9 9 25 −16
 Benin 2 1 0 1 8 4 +4
 Botswana 20 2 11 7 18 19 −1
 Burkina Faso 3 0 0 3 2 11 −9
 Burundi 4 1 1 2 7 8 –1
 Chad 4 3 0 1 7 4 +3
 Cameroon 6 1 2 3 3 8 −5
 Comoros 5 3 1 1 8 2 +6
 Congo 6 1 2 3 3 9 −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 3 0 1 2 0 2 −2
 Guinea 10 1 2 7 4 19 −15
 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 7 4 0 3 6 5 +1
 Lebanon 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Lesotho 13 5 5 3 15 14 +1
 Liberia 2 1 3 1 3 3 0
 Libya 2 1 0 1 2 2 0
 Madagascar 8 4 1 3 11 10 +1
 Malawi 16 8 4 4 21 16 +5
 Mali 8 1 3 4 4 8 −4
 Mauritius 4 2 0 2 5 4 +1
 Morocco 7 0 1 6 2 15 −13
 Mozambique 20 10 6 4 25 14 +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
 São Tomé and Príncipe 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Saudi Arabia 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2
 Senegal 8 1 0 7 5 24 −19
 Seychelles 7 4 3 0 15 5 +10
 South Africa 14 1 5 8 10 27 −17
 Swaziland 9 1 4 4 8 10 −2
 Tanzania 4 0 2 2 1 4 −3
 Togo 2 1 0 1 1 1 0
 Tunisia 6 2 1 3 3 8 −5
 Zambia 22 2 11 9 11 27 −16
 Zimbabwe 15 7 0 8 26 29 –3
Total 300 79 87 134 292 412 −120

Honours

Regional

  • COSAFA Cup
    • Winners (1): 2015
    • Runners-up (4): 1997, 1999, 2022, 2024

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Namibia para niños

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