WINDHOEK – The Brave Warriors of Namibia last night ended their grueling 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign with a dispiriting 1-4 defeat against The Elephants of Ivory Coast, which saw budding striker Joslin Kamatuka scoring Namibia’s only goal at the tournament.
Kamatuka, who plies his trade for Umoya United in South Africa, bagged the Brave Warriors’ consolation goal in the 71st minute when he seized on a defensive error. Max Gradel, Wilfried Zaha, Serey Die and Maxwell Cornet were all on target as Ivory Coast cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo last night.
Statistically, the 2019 Afcon appears to be Namibia’s worst campaign when compared to their last two previous appearances in Burkina Faso in 1998 and Ghana in 2008.
In Burkina Faso, Namibia banged seven goals past their opponents despite bowing out in the group stage, and 2008 Afcon saw a decline in goals as Namibia only scored two goals in their three group outings as they failed to advance to the next round.
At the ongoing continental football showpiece in Egypt, the world got to witness first hand a much improved and a defensively well composed Brave Warriors outfit, but going forward and scoring those vital goals again appeared to be Namibia’s biggest Achilles heel – with Kamatuka’s goal last night being the country’s only goal at this year’s tournament.
With the win, Ivory Coast secured safe passage into the last 16 as The Elephants finish second in Group D behind Morocco, and will play their last 16 clash in a week’s time in Suez against the Group E winner – likely to be Mali. The Brave Warriors, meanwhile, bow out of the tournament with three losses from as many outings.