Namibia ended their Africa Cup of Nations winless record on Tuesday night, defeating Group E favourites Tunisia 1-0 at Korhogo’s Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly.
The Brave Warriors made their intentions clear from the start, finishing the first half with three shots on target to one for the North Africans.
In the second half, both teams appeared to pose threats in each other’s halves, with three shots on goal each. However, Namibia’s quick attackers, led by Peter Shalulile, posed frequent threats.
The Brave Warriors’ efforts paid off late in the game when Deon Hotto found himself unmarked in the Tunisian box and headed home from close range in the 88th minute following an excellent cross by Betheu Muzeu.
Namibia went all out for the second goal, with Hotto scoring again in the third minute of injury time, but it was called out for offside.
The North Africans showed a few flashes of threats in the last minutes, but time was not on their side when the referee blew the final whistle, sealing a historic victory for the Southern Africans.
Prior to Tuesday’s encounter, Namibia had lost seven of its nine AFCON matches, with the best record being two draws.
They also conceded 2.7 goals per game at the tournament (24 in 9 games); that’s more than any other team to have taken part in more than one edition of the tournament.