WINDHOEK: Namibia’s Brave Five were on Sunday outperformed 10-3 by Egypt in a thrilling game at the 2024 Morocco TotalEnergies Confederation of African Football (CAF) Futsal African Cup of Nations.
Namibia squared up against three-time competition champions Egypt in their second Group B match at the championship and could not match the quality of their opponents.
As in their opening match of the competition, Namibia’s goalkeeper Cee-Jay Van Wyk was once again the star of the show, preventing the Egyptians from finding the back of the net in the opening minutes of the match.
Despite Van Wyk’s best efforts, the three-time champions broke the deadlock after five minutes through Alaa Eissa and they almost found the second goal, but Khaled Abbas smashed a shot straight into the stomach of Van Wyk as the Egyptians were pushing for their second goal.
The resilient Egyptian continued pushing for more goals, with Mohamed Abdelrazak Koki missing a great opportunity to extend their lead.
Despite being under pressur
e, Brave Five’s Nanguel Kamatuka almost found the back of the net, but his efforts were cleared off the line by an Egyptian defender.
The Brave Five levelled matters eight minutes before halftime, courtesy of Reginald Clive Willemse’s stunning finish. Willemse pounced on a loose ball just outside the area to rifle his effort into the roof of the Pharaohs’ net.
Namibia’s celebrations lasted only a minute as the Egyptians found the back of the net once again to take the lead through a goal by Khaled Abdelhalim, who curled a delightful shot past Van Wyk. Abdelhalim celebrations were also short-lived as Rowen Jager equalised for the spirited Namibians.
Brave Five’s captain Ken Salote almost took the lead for his team for the first time in the game but missed the target.
Namibia was then punished on the stroke of halftime for wasting their chances when Mohamed Abdelrazek Koki slotted in Egypt’s third to go into the break with a 3-2 advantage.
The second half saw a more transformed Egypt scoring from all angle
s as they opened the scoring in the first minute of the second half.
Essam Ramadan, Koki, Abdelrahman Moawad, Khaled Abdelhalim, and Mohamed all managed to find the back of the net, leading to a runaway victory for the Egyptians.
Meanwhile, Namibia’s third came through their replacement keeper Ryiena Riya who pulled a goal back in a losing effort.
With the win, Egypt sits at the top of Group B with six points, while Mauritania is in second with three points. Libya Namibia anchor the group, both without a point.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency