Namibia showed plenty of fight to rally from two goals down but had to settle for a 4–2
defeat at the hands of COSAFA rivals Zambia in their TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup
of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2026 second round, first-leg qualifier at the Dobsonville
Stadium in Soweto on Wednesday.
Zambia were 2–0 up early on, but Namibia scored twice early in the second half to pull the
match back to 2–2, before Zambia captain Racheal Kundananji netted twice more to
complete her hat-trick. The second leg of the tie will be played in Ndola on Sunday, where Namibia will feel they are still in with a chance of reaching the continental finals, which are scheduled for March 17– April 3, 2026.
Zambia took the lead on 12 minutes when Eneless Phiri broke the offside trap and got in
behind the Namibia defence before crossing for an easy tap-in for Kundananji. It was 2–0 five minutes later when Grace Chanda’s cross to the back post eluded everyone
but was bundled into the back of the net by Racheal Nachula. Namibia did not let their heads drop, though, and fought their way back into the contest
with an excellent fightback.
The score was 2–0 at halftime, but after the break Namibia pulled a goal back on 52
minutes. Ivone Kooper collected the ball after some neat passing on the edge of the box, and her shot
from 15 yards had the beating of Zambian goalkeeper Hazel Nali.
And it was 2–2 when Zenatha Coleman converted a penalty following a foul on Leena
Alweendo by Nachula. Coleman was cool with her finish and never going to miss. At that stage, the momentum was with Namibia, but Zambia have plenty of threats in
attack, and Kundananji netted her second goal.
She picked up the ball 15 yards out and rifled her shot into the back of the net, with Namibia
goalkeeper Melissa Matheus unable to keep the effort out. It looked as though that was the way it would stay, until Kundananji beat the offside trap and rounded Matheus before scoring a fourth for the visitors.
The winners of the 11 second-round qualification ties for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON
Morocco 2026 will join the hosts in the field.
The tournament will serve as the qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be
staged in Brazil, with the four semi-finalists in Morocco advancing to the global finals.
You can rewatch the action on the Namibia Football Association Facebook page or COSAFA’s
YouTube channel.
Issued by MEDIA OFFICE COSAFA on behalf of NFA