Preview: Namibia vs. Cameroon, Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying | Group Stage
- kicker 2024/11/13 02:36
- 0 0
The action resumes in Group J of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers as Namibia and five-time champions Cameroon go head to head at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.
While the Brave Warriors will be playing for pride, having lost each of their four games in the qualifiers, Cameroon will aim to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table and guarantee their spot as group winners.
Match preview
Namibia's dreams of reaching the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations effectively came to an end on October 14 when they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Zimbabwe at the Orlando Stadium.
With nothing to separate the two teams at half time, a brace from Walter Musona and Prince Dube's 89th-minute strike put Zimbabwe in a comfortable lead before Godwin Eiseb netted on the 90th-minute mark to give the visiting fans something to cheer.
This was a second consecutive AFCON qualifying defeat against Zimbabwe for Namibia, who were beaten 1-0 by the Warriors when the two nations met in the first of their Group J double-header on October 10.
While Collin Benjamin's men have been let down by a lack of cutting edge in front of goal, where they have netted just twice in their four group games, their major issues remain at the back, having conceded seven goals so far.
Namibia, who have lost their four AFCON qualifying games to sit rock-bottom in the group standings, head into Wednesday's clash off the back of a first-round exit from the African Nations Championship as they were beaten on penalties by Lesotho after a 1-1 aggregate stalemate.
Following a 1-0 first-leg defeat on October 26, Lawrence Doeseb 62nd-minute strike fired the Brave Warriors a 1-0 victory in the return leg on November 3 to take the tie to penalties, where they lost 4-3 at the Free State Stadium.
Cameroon, on the other hand, had to dig deep to secure consecutive victories for the first time in the 2025 AFCON qualifying race as they edged out Libya 1-0 when the two nations squared off on October 4.
Making his first appearance in Cameroon colours, DC United midfielder Boris Enow had a debut to remember as he netted a long-range free kick to fire them to a hard-fought victory at the Mandela National Stadium.
This was a second consecutive victory over Libya for Marc Brys's men, who kicked off their quest for a place in Morocco with a 1-0 win over Namibia on September 7, three days before playing out a goalless draw with Zimbabwe.
The Indomitable Lions have picked up 10 points from a possible 12 in the qualifiers to sit top of the Group J standings, two points above second-placed Zimbabwe heading into the final two qualifying matches.
Cameroon head into the weekend unbeaten in each of their last six matches across all competitions, claiming two draws and four wins, including a 4-1 victory over Cape Verde in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, where they lead the way in Group D with eight points from four games.
Team News
Namibia have named a 28-man list for November's qualifiers against Cameroon and Kenya, with the likes of Edward Maova, Deon Hotto and Mamelodi Sundowns striker Peter Shalulile headlining the team.
Shalulile, who has 16 goals in 49 senior caps since his debut in September 2014, should lead the Brave Warriors' attack once again, alongside Prins Menelik Tjiueza and 24-year-old Bethuel Muzeu.
We expect Riaan Hanamub, Charles Hambira and Baggio Tuli-Ngenovali Nashixwa to form the Namibia back three once again while Aprocius Petrus and 22-year-old Paulus Amutenya should team up at the centre of the park.
Cameroon have named a star-studded 26-man squad for November's qualifiers, including Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, Napoli man Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and veteran forward Vincent Aboubakar.
Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo has been one of the standout performers in the Premier League this season and the 25-year-old, who has eight goals and one assist in 11 league games, should join Aboubakar in the Indomitable Lions attack.
At the defensive end of the pitch, Nouhou Tolo, Jean-Charles Castelletto, Michael Ngadeu and Hellas Verona's Jackson Tchatchoua started the game against Libya last time out and should retain Thais roles in the back four.
Namibia possible starting lineup:
Maova; Hanamub, Hambira, Nashixwa; Hotto, Petrus, Amutenya, Kamberipa; Shalulile, Tjiueza, Mazeu
Cameroon possible starting lineup:
Onana; Tolo, Castelletto, Ngadeu, Tchatchoua; Baleba, Anguissa, Hongla; Aboubakar, Mbuemo, Bassogog
This article mentions
Related News
All teams qualified to AFCON 2025!
1 day ago
Preview: Cameroon vs Zimbabwe,Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying
3 days ago
Preview: Ivory Coast vs Chad,Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying
4 days ago
Nigeria: Super Eagles’ likely XI vs Rwanda: Lookman & Aina out; Osimhen a doubt; Boniface in
4 days ago
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Preview:Tunisia vs Gambia
5 days ago
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Preview:Morocco vs Lesotho
5 days ago
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Preview:Comoros vs Madagascar
5 days ago
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Preview:CAR vs Gabon
5 days ago
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Preview:Sudan vs Angola
5 days ago
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Preview:Nigeria vs Rwanda
5 days ago
0comments
No comments available