Namibia national football team

Namibia
Nickname(s)	Brave 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
FIFA ranking
Current	97 9 (20 June 2024)
Highest	68 (November 1998)
Lowest	167 (July 2006)
First international
	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

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 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.^[4]

Namibia has made four appearances in the African Cup of Nations, 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.^{[citation needed]}

The most capped player of the Brave Warriors is defender Denzil Haoseb with 83 caps while Peter Shalulile 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.^[5]^[6]

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

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

11 July 2023 COSAFA Cup	Namibia	0–0	Botswana	Durban
18:00		Report		Stadium: Chatsworth Stadium

4 September Friendly	Zimbabwe	2–2 (5–4 p)	Namibia	Harare, Zimbabwe
	Msebe 2' F. Banda 36'	Report	Eliakim 30' Kambanda 68'	Stadium: National Sports Stadium

9 September Friendly	South Africa	0–0	Namibia	Soweto, South Africa
		Report		Stadium: Orlando Stadium

15 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Equatorial Guinea	0–3 Awarded^[a]	Namibia	Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
14:00 UTC+1	Nsue 67'	Report		Stadium: Estadio de Malabo Referee: Ali Sabilla (Uganda)

21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	São Tomé and Príncipe	0–2	Namibia	Agadir, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1		Report	Tjiueza 9' Mateus 75' (o.g.)	Stadium: Agadir Stadium Referee: Ousmane Diakate (Mali)

2024

8 January Friendly	Ghana	0–0	Namibia	Kumasi, Ghana
20:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium Referee: Charles Benle Bulu (Ghana)

16 January 2023 AFCON GS	Tunisia	0–1	Namibia	Korhogo, Ivory Coast
17:00 UTC±0		Report	Hotto 88'	Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Attendance: 13,991 Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)

21 January 2023 AFCON GS	South Africa	4–0	Namibia	Korhogo, Ivory Coast
	Tau 14' (pen.) Zwane 25', 40' Maseko 75'	Report		Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Attendance: 9,304 Referee: Youcef Gamouh (Algeria)

24 January 2023 AFCON GS	Namibia	0–0	Mali	San-Pédro, Ivory Coast
17:00		Report		Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium Attendance: 15,231 Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)

27 January 2023 AFCON R16	Angola	3–0	Namibia	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
	Dala 38', 42' Mabululu 66'	Report		Stadium: Stade de la Paix, Bouaké Attendance: 28,663 Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

1 June Friendly

Lesotho

1–1

Namibia

5 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Namibia	1–1	Liberia	Johannesburg, South Africa
18:00 UTC+2	Karuuombe 8'	Report	Sackor 65'	Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Messie Jessie Oved Nkounkou Mvoutou (Congo)

9 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Namibia	0–0	Tunisia	Johannesburg, South Africa
21:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

28 June 2024 COSAFA Cup	Angola	0–0	Namibia	Gqeberha
18:00		Report		Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

1 July 2024 COSAFA Cup	Namibia	2–1	Lesotho	Gqeberha
18:00				Stadium: Isaac Wolfson Stadium

3 July 2024 COSAFA Cup	Namibia	3–1	Seychelles	Gqeberha
15:00				Stadium: Isaac Wolfson Stadium

5 July 2024 COSAFA Cup Semi-final	Mozambique	0–0 (2–4 p)	Namibia	Gqeberha, South Africa
				Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

7 July 2024 COSAFA Cup F	Angola	5–0	Namibia	Gqeberha, South Africa
				Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

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

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the 2024 COSAFA Cup.^[8]

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Kamaijanda Ndisiro	(1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 24)	6	0	African Stars
1GK	Jonas Mateus	(1996-02-10) 10 February 1996 (age 28)	0	0	Ongos Valley
1GK	Branco Rukoro	(2005-05-01) 1 May 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Desert Rollers

2DF	Aprocius Petrus	(1999-10-09) 9 October 1999 (age 24)	36	0	Cape Town City
2DF	Ivan Kamberipa	(1994-02-03) 3 February 1994 (age 30)	35	0	Orapa United
2DF	Charles Hambira	(1990-06-03) 3 June 1990 (age 34)	32	3	African Stars
2DF	Erasmus Ikeinge	(1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 29)	4	0	Khomas NAMPOL
2DF	Ndjiraeree Maharero	(1994-05-28) 28 May 1994 (age 30)	2	0	African Stars
2DF	Arend Abubakir	(2002-03-17) 17 March 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Blue Waters
2DF	Tuli Nashixwa	(2002-05-23) 23 May 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Ramblers

3MF	Edmund Kambanda	(1993-02-25) 25 February 1993 (age 31)	10	1	African Stars
3MF	Romeo Kasume	(1997-10-21) 21 October 1997 (age 26)	7	0	Ongos Valley
3MF	Paulus Amutenya	(2002-07-22) 22 July 2002 (age 21)	6	0	UNAM
3MF	Tjipe Karuuombe	(2001-09-21) 21 September 2001 (age 22)	4	1	UNAM
3MF	Simon Elago	(2002-10-07) 7 October 2002 (age 21)	2	0	Tura Magic
3MF	Fares Haidula	(1993-10-17) 17 October 1993 (age 30)	2	0	Eeshoke Chula Chula
3MF	Ben Richard Namib	(1999-08-20) 20 August 1999 (age 24)	2	0	Khomas NAMPOL
3MF	Lawrence Doeseb	(2003-06-04) 4 June 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Life Fighters
3MF	Moses Shidolo	(1998-05-20) 20 May 1998 (age 26)	1	0	Eeshoke Chula Chula
3MF	Dawid Ndeunyema	(2002-08-22) 22 August 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Blue Waters

4FW	Bethuel Muzeu	(2000-02-22) 22 February 2000 (age 24)	17	1	Black Leopards
4FW	Erastus Kulula	(1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 27)	3	0	Blue Waters
4FW	George Frans	(1998-11-01) 1 November 1998 (age 25)	0	0	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	Chippa United	v. Tunisia; 9 June 2024
GK	Edward Maova	(1994-09-05) 5 September 1994 (age 29)	13	0	University of Pretoria	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
GK	Immanuel Immanuel	(1990-12-02) 2 December 1990 (age 33)	0	0	Blue Waters	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE

DF	Riaan Hanamub	(1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 29)	46	0	AmaZulu	v. Tunisia; 9 June 2024
DF	Denzil Haoseb	(1991-02-25) 25 February 1991 (age 33)	83	0	Khomas NAMPOL	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Ananias Gebhardt	(1988-09-08) 8 September 1988 (age 35)	65	2	Baroka	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Ryan Nyambe	(1997-12-03) 3 December 1997 (age 26)	18	0	Derby County	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Kennedy Amutenya	(1996-07-15) 15 July 1996 (age 27)	15	0	Gaborone United	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Lubeni Haukongo	(2000-09-24) 24 September 2000 (age 23)	7	0	Cape Town Spurs	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Steven Damaseb	(2002-10-11) 11 October 2002 (age 21)	4	0	Blue Waters	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
DF	Given Mutuezu	(1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 (age 27)	0	0	Mighty Gunners	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE

MF	Edmar Kamatuka	(2002-07-26) 26 July 2002 (age 21)	7	0	UNAM	v. Tunisia; 9 June 2024
MF	Petrus Shitembi	(1992-05-11) 11 May 1992 (age 32)	79	4	Kuching City	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Marcel Papama	(1996-04-28) 28 April 1996 (age 28)	34	1	Jwaneng Galaxy	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Joslin Kamatuka	(1991-07-27) 27 July 1991 (age 32)	26	3	Maritzburg United	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Wendell Rudath	(1995-07-10) 10 July 1995 (age 29)	17	2	Jwaneng Galaxy	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Prins Tjiueza	(2002-03-12) 12 March 2002 (age 22)	14	1	Liria Prizren	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Ngero Katua	(2001-07-25) 25 July 2001 (age 22)	12	0	UNAM	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Uetuuru Kambato	(1998-01-24) 24 January 1998 (age 26)	3	0	African Stars	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Ronald Ketjijere	(1987-12-12) 12 December 1987 (age 36)	69	2	African Stars	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Devin Somseb	(1995-05-29) 29 May 1995 (age 29)	3	0	United Africa Tigers	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Revered Matroos	(1993-03-08) 8 March 1993 (age 31)	1	0	Khomas NAMPOL	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Alfeus Leevi	(2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Eeshoke Chula Chula	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Steven Damaseb	(2002-10-11) 11 October 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Blue Waters	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE

FW	Deon Hotto	(1990-10-29) 29 October 1990 (age 33)	75	11	Orlando Pirates	v. Tunisia; 9 June 2024
FW	Peter Shalulile (Captain)	(1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 31)	54	16	Mamelodi Sundowns	v. Tunisia; 9 June 2024
FW	Absalom Iimbondi	(1991-10-11) 11 October 1991 (age 32)	64	7	Khomas NAMPOL	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Elmo Kambindu	(1993-05-26) 26 May 1993 (age 31)	28	9	Chippa United	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
FW	Isaskar Gurirab	(1998-03-01) 1 March 1998 (age 26)	12	2	Blue Waters	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
FW	Junior Petrus	(2000-06-17) 17 June 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Liria Prizren	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
FW	Sem Ndeshipanda Ndahangwapo	(2000-09-24) 24 September 2000 (age 23)	0	0	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

Player records

As of 27 January 2024^[9]

Players in bold are still active with Namibia.

Most appearances
Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Denzil Haoseb	83	0	2011–present
2	Petrus Shitembi	79	4	2011–present
3	Deon Hotto	73	11	2013–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–present
9	Mohamed Ouseb	60	3	1994–2004
9	Willy Stephanus	60	3	2011–present

Top goalscorers
Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Peter Shalulile	16	54	0.3	2014–present
2	Rudolph Bester	13	46	0.28	2004–2014
3	Gervatius Urikhob	11	40	0.28	1993–2003
3	Deon Hotto	11	73	0.15	2013–present
5	Johannes Hindjou	10	63	0.16	1996–2005
6	Elmo Kambindu	9	28	0.32	2019–present
	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
9	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
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									8	3	2	3	9	11
2026	To be determined								4	2	2	0	6	1
2030									To be determined
2034									To be determined
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
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	Round of 16	15th	4	1	1	2	1	7
2025	To be determined
2027	To be determined
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
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	Did not enter
Total	Quarter-finals	2/7	7	2	2	3	3	7

COSAFA Cup

Head-to-head record against other nations

Updated on 5 July 2024 after match against Mozambique^[10]

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	4	1	1	2	3	7	−4
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	6	4	0	2	5	3	+2
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
Eswatini	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	13	7	0	6	25	25	0
Total	295	79	86	130	290	405	−115

Honours

COSAFA Cup

Winners: 2015
Runners-up: 1997, 1999, 2022

Notes

^ Equatorial Guinea forfeited for fielding an ineligible player.^[7] The original result was Equatorial Guinea 1–0 Namibia.

References

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
^ "Namibian football on the rise – ESPN FC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
^ "Namibia International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
^ "Senior Men (Brave Warriors)". nfa.org.na. Namibia Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
^ "Ketjijere aiming to go out with a bang". namibian.com.na. The Namibian. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
^ Dunbar, Graham (24 May 2024). "Equatorial Guinea must default wins in World Cup qualifying over same ineligible player as in 2013". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
^ "Final Squad". Facebook. Namibia Football Association – NFA.
^ "Namibia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Namibia". Elo Ratings. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.

External links

Namibia Football Association official website
Namibia at CAF
Namibia at FIFA
Kits

[8] Equatorial Guinea forfeited for fielding an ineligible player.^[7] The original result was Equatorial Guinea 1–0 Namibia.

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.

[3] "Namibian football on the rise – ESPN FC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

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

[5] "Senior Men (Brave Warriors)". nfa.org.na. Namibia Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2015.

[6] "Ketjijere aiming to go out with a bang". namibian.com.na. The Namibian. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2019.

[7] Dunbar, Graham (24 May 2024). "Equatorial Guinea must default wins in World Cup qualifying over same ineligible player as in 2013". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

[9] "Final Squad". Facebook. Namibia Football Association – NFA.

[10] "Namibia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

[11] "World Football Elo Ratings: Namibia". Elo Ratings. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.

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