There were scenes of jubilation at Stade de San Pedro as Namibia progressed to the Round of 16 in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history, following their 0-0 draw with Mali on Wednesday night.
The Brave Eagles joined South Africa and Mali as the teams to progress to the next round of the competition, with Tunisia finishing last in Group E.
Mali got the game off to a positive start with Yves Bissouma producing the first attempt at goal as early as the first minutes. Not holding back, the likes of Peter Shalulile and Deon Hotto progressed the ball upfield on numerous occasions.
The Brave Warriors continued to press on, with Prins Tjiueza coming close to opening the scoring in the 16th minute with a shot inside the Mali 18-yard area. Mali won a couple of free-kicks in the offensive half as the half-hour mark approached but were unable to make the most of their opportunities.
Kennedy Amutenya was presented with one of the chances of the half in the 37th minute. With Hotto playing the ball across the area, Amutenya’s attempt on the side of the six-yard box went agonisingly wide.
🇳🇦 Deon Hotto 🇳🇦
— Total Energies AFCON (@TotalAFCON2023) January 24, 2024
The Namibian star is the TotalEnergies Man of the Match with an outstanding performance vs. Mali 👏#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | #NAMMLI | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/lkFGFSZD81
Namibia looked lively after the restart, with Amutenya once again proving to be a tough customer to deal with, this time coming close with a headed effort from the centre of the penalty area.
The game reached a tacky period en route to the 75th minute, with Mali struggling to make their passes stick in the middle of the park. Namibia likewise battled to get themselves into the game, as a result of Mali edging the Brave Warriors to the ball possession count.
Mali began seeing more of the ball as the clock ran down, as Namibia looked content at surrendering the ball to the opposition in midfield. With Namibia clinging on by defending on the edge of the 18-yard-area, the Brave Warriors continued to frustrate Mali with rugged defending toward the end of the tie.
Namibia: 0
Mali: 0
Namibia: Kazapua, Hanamub, Haukongo, Amutenya, Kamberipa, Petrus, Hotto, Katua (Hambira 89’), Tjiueza (Papama 79’), Muzeu (Limbondi 74’), Shalulile (Haoseb 90’)
Mali: D.Diarra, M.Diarra (Dante 68’), Niakate, Kouyate, Traore, Dorgeles, Bissouma, Dieng (Camara 68’), Diabate (Traore 81’), Sinayoko (Sissoko 52’), Niakate (Doumbia 53’)