Maurice Kambukwe
Interim senior men’s football coach, Bobby Samaria said they played a strong Senegalese team, but admitted they had fair chances which they couldn’t convert.
Samaria was speaking from Dakar after his side’s 4-1 loss to Senegal in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. It was the first of two legs scheduled against Senegal. The second will take place tomorrow in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is their home ground, because Namibia’s stadiums are not up to Caf required standards.
“We started off the match on a low, with our opponents dominating. They are very gifted tactically and technically; also doing well in possession, and it took us time to settle down. They utilised playing the ball in wide. We got our chances too, but we couldn’t utilise them as well,” he told the NFA media desk.
The half-time score was 2-0 for the hosts. Senegal scored two more goals in the second half, with Baroka United striker Joslin Kamatuka scoring Namibia’s only goal in the 76th minute.
Idrissa Gueye, Famara Diedhiou, Sadio Mane and Keita Balde scored for Senegal. Namibia remains in second position on the Group H log standing after three matches played thus far in the qualifiers. They beat Congo and drew against Togo in earlier matches.
Senegal lead the pack on nine points. Congo have two points and Togo one point. Meanwhile, Senegal have now beaten Namibia six times in seven encounters since 2001. Namibia defeated the Lions of Teranga 2-1 in a Cosafa Cup clash in July this year.