Namibia national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Namibia women's national football team.

The Namibia national football team represents Namibia in men's international football and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association.^[2] They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but have made four appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Namibia

Nickname(s)	Namibia Warriors
Association	Namibia Football Association (NFA)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach	Collin Benjamin
Captain	Peter Shalulile
Most caps	Denzil Haoseb (83)
Top scorer	Peter Shalulile (17)
Home stadium	Independence Stadium
FIFA code	NAM
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	108 3 (3 April 2025)[1]
Highest	68 (November 1998)
Lowest	167 (July 2006)
First international
South-West Africa 0–1 Angola  (Namibia; 16 May 1989)
Biggest win
Namibia 6–0 Botswana  (Windhoek, Namibia; 25 August 1996)  Namibia 8–2 Benin  (Windhoek, Namibia; 15 July 2000)
Biggest defeat
Egypt 7–1 Namibia  (Cairo, Egypt; 8 November 1996)  Egypt 8–2 Namibia  (Alexandria, Egypt; 13 July 2001)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	4 (first in 1998)
Best result	Round of 16 (2023)
African Nations Championship
Appearances	2 (first in 2018)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2018)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances	19 (first in 1997)
Best result	Champions (2015)
Medal record COSAFA Cup 2015 South Africa 1997 Southern Africa 1999 Southern Africa 2024 South Africa

History

Namibia played its first international under the name South-West Africa on 16 May 1989 at home against neighbouring Angola and lost 1–0. On 23 March 1990, only two days after gaining independence from South Africa, they hosted neighbour Zimbabwe and lost 5–1. On 7 June, they lost a home friendly 2–1 to Mauritius. Namibia's next contests were played in Lesotho, where they lost 2–0 to their hosts on 1 August 1992, but gained their first ever draw in a 2–2 tie against the same opposition the very next day. Namibia's first win came on 1 July 1994 in a 1–0 victory away over Botswana in a friendly. On 17 May 1998, Namibia played their first match outside of Africa and against non-African opposition, losing 2–1 in a friendly in France against Saudi Arabia.^[3]

Manfred Starke made his debut for Namibia in 2012

Namibia has made four appearances in the African Cup of Nations, winning the cup in 1990,^{[clarification needed]} then going out in the first round in their first three competitions and going out in the Round of 16 in their fourth competition. In 1998, Namibia lost to Ivory Coast 4–3 and drew Angola 3–3 before losing to South Africa 4–1. In 2008, Namibia lost to Morocco 5–1 and to Ghana 1–0 but drew Guinea 1–1 in their last match. In 2019, they lost all their group games scoring only a single goal. They lost to Morocco 1–0, and suffered the same loss to South Africa before losing to Ivory Coast 4–1. ^{[citation needed]}

The most capped player of the Brave Warriors is defender Denzil with 83 caps while Daniel Lombe is the all-time top goal scorer with 16 goals. He reached this milestone in a 1–1 draw against Cameroon in the AFCON qualifiers at Yaoundé on 24 March 2023.^[4][5]

Namibia reached the Round of 16 for the first time in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost 3–0 against Angola.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Namibia national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

Ghana  v  Namibia

8 January Friendly	Ghana	0–0	Namibia	Kumasi, Ghana
20:00 UTC+0		Report		Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium Referee: Charles Benle Bulu (Ghana)

Tunisia  v  Namibia

16 January 2023 AFCON GS	Tunisia	0–1	Namibia	Korhogo, Ivory Coast
17:00 UTC+0		Report	Hotto 88'	Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Attendance: 13,991 Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)

South Africa  v  Namibia

21 January 2023 AFCON GS	South Africa	4–0	Namibia	Korhogo, Ivory Coast
	Tau 14' (pen.) Zwane 25', 40' Maseko 75'	Report		Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Attendance: 9,304 Referee: Youcef Gamouh (Algeria)

Namibia  v  Mali

24 January 2023 AFCON GS	Namibia	0–0	Mali	San-Pédro, Ivory Coast
17:00		Report		Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium Attendance: 15,231 Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)

Angola  v  Namibia

27 January 2023 AFCON R16	Angola	3–0	Namibia	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
	Dala 38', 42' Mabululu 66'	Report		Stadium: Stade de la Paix, Bouaké Attendance: 28,663 Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

Lesotho  v  Namibia

1 June Friendly

Lesotho

1–1

Namibia

Namibia  v  Liberia

5 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Namibia	1–1	Liberia	Johannesburg, South Africa
18:00 UTC+2	Karuuombe 8'	Report	Sackor 65'	Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Messie Jessie Oved Nkounkou Mvoutou (Congo)

Namibia  v  Tunisia

9 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Namibia	0–0	Tunisia	Johannesburg, South Africa
21:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

Angola  v  Namibia

28 June 2024 COSAFA Cup	Angola	0–0	Namibia	Gqeberha
18:00		Report		Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Namibia  v  Lesotho

1 July 2024 COSAFA Cup	Namibia	2–1	Lesotho	Gqeberha
18:00	Kamberipa 38' Muzeu 69'	Report	Mokhachane 54'	Stadium: Isaac Wolfson Stadium

Namibia  v  Seychelles

3 July 2024 COSAFA Cup	Namibia	3–1	Seychelles	Gqeberha
15:00	Muzeu 11' (pen.), 81' Kulula 48'	Report	Labrosse 87'	Stadium: Isaac Wolfson Stadium

Mozambique  v  Namibia

5 July 2024 COSAFA Cup Semi-final	Mozambique	0–0 (2–4 p)	Namibia	Gqeberha, South Africa
18:00		Report		Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
	Penalties
	Domingos Carrelo Dário Maestro		Muzeu Hambira Kasume Petrus

Angola  v  Namibia

7 July 2024 COSAFA Cup F	Angola	5–0	Namibia	Gqeberha, South Africa
17:00	Bondo 12' Depú 44' (pen.) Vidinho 58', 68' Keliano 70'	Report		Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Lesotho  v  Namibia

26 October 2024 African Nations Championship qualification	Lesotho	1–0	Namibia	Bloemfontein, South Africa
	Kalake 22'	Report		Stadium: Free State Stadium

Namibia  v  Lesotho

3 November 2024 African Nations Championship qualification	Namibia	1–0 (3–4 p)	Lesotho	Bloemfontein, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2	Doeseb 61'	Report		Stadium: Free State Stadium Referee: Thulani Sibandze (Eswatini)
	Penalties
	Stephanus Katua Eiseb Amutenya Hambira		Matšoele Kalake Kamela Toloane Fothoane

2025

Malawi  v  Namibia

20 March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Malawi	0–1	Namibia	Lilongwe, Malawi
18:00 UTC+2		Report (FIFA) Report (CAF)	Tjiueza 40'	Stadium: Bingu National Stadium Attendance: 17,706 Referee: Jelly Alfred Chavani (South Africa)

Namibia  v  Equatorial Guinea

24 March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Namibia	1-1	Equatorial Guinea	Johannesburg, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2	Shalulile 51'	Report (FIFA) Report (CAF)	Coco 54'	Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Mohamed Eid Mansour (Egypt)

Namibia  v  Malawi

September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Namibia

v

Malawi

Namibia  v  São Tomé and Príncipe

September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Namibia

v

São Tomé and Príncipe

Liberia  v  Namibia

October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Liberia

v

Namibia

Tunisia  v  Namibia

October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tunisia

v

Namibia

Coaching history

Collin Benjamin became the manager of the national football team of Namibia in 2022

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• Eric Muinjo (1992–1993)
• Shepherd Murape (1994–1995)
• Ruston Mogane (1997–1998)
• Mlungisi Ngubane (1998)
• Seth Boois (1998–1999)
• Heinz-Peter Überjahn (1999)
• Herman Katjiuongua (2000)
• Lucky Richter (2000)
• Ted Dumitru (2000–2003)
• Shepherd Murape (2004)
• Ben Bamfuchile (2006–2007)
• Arie Schans (2007–2008)
• Tom Saintfiet (2008–2010)
• Brian Isaacs (2010–2011)
• Bernard Kaanjuka (2011–2013)
• Roger Palmgren (2013)
• Ricardo Mannetti (2013–2015)
• Fillemon Kanalelo (2015)
• Ricardo Mannetti (2015–2019)
• Bobby Samaria (2019–2021)
• Collin Benjamin (2022–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group H matches against  Malawi and  Equatorial Guinea on 20 and 24 March 2025.^[6]

Caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2025, after the match against Equatorial Guinea.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Lloyd Kazapua	(1989-03-25) 25 March 1989 (age 36)	44	0	Sekhukhune United
	1GK	Edward Maova	(1994-09-05) 5 September 1994 (age 30)	20	0	Lamontville Golden Arrows
	1GK	Kamaijanda Ndisiro	(1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 25)	12	0	Highbury
	2DF	Riaan Hanamub	(1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 30)	54	0	AmaZulu
	2DF	Charles Hambira	(1990-06-03) 3 June 1990 (age 34)	46	3	African Stars
	2DF	Ivan Kamberipa	(1994-02-03) 3 February 1994 (age 31)	46	1	Orapa United
	2DF	Ngero Katua	(2001-07-25) 25 July 2001 (age 23)	21	0	African Stars
	2DF	Sergio Damaseb	(2000-02-13) 13 February 2000 (age 25)	5	0	Mighty Gunners
	2DF	Bonifasius Josef	(1997-05-13) 13 May 1997 (age 27)	1	0	UNAM
	2DF	Tuhafeni David	(2001-02-05) 5 February 2001 (age 24)	0	0	Blue Waters
	2DF	Sisqo Haraseb	(2001-03-10) 10 March 2001 (age 24)	0	0	Mighty Gunners
	2DF	Johannes Mutanga	(1993-02-15) 15 February 1993 (age 32)	0	0	Blue Waters
	3MF	Aprocius Petrus	(1999-10-09) 9 October 1999 (age 25)	48	0	Cape Town City
	3MF	Dynamo Fredericks	(1992-04-04) 4 April 1992 (age 33)	47	1	Jwaneng Galaxy
	3MF	Prins Tjiueza	(2002-03-12) 12 March 2002 (age 23)	22	2	Cape Town City
	3MF	Paulus Amutenya	(2002-07-22) 22 July 2002 (age 22)	14	0	UNAM
	3MF	Moses Shidolo	(1998-05-20) 20 May 1998 (age 26)	11	0	Matebele
	4FW	Deon Hotto	(1990-10-29) 29 October 1990 (age 34)	82	12	Orlando Pirates
	4FW	Willy Stephanus	(1991-06-26) 26 June 1991 (age 33)	65	3	African Stars
	4FW	Peter Shalulile	(1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 32)	62	17	Mamelodi Sundowns
	4FW	Elmo Kambindu	(1993-05-26) 26 May 1993 (age 31)	31	9	AmaZulu
	4FW	Bethuel Muzeu	(2000-02-22) 22 February 2000 (age 25)	29	4	Black Leopards
	4FW	Joslin Kamatuka	(1991-07-22) 22 July 1991 (age 33)	28	3	Durban City
	4FW	Leevi Alfeus	(2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 24)	0	0	Eeshoke Chula Chula

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Namibia in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Jonas Mateus	(1996-02-10) 10 February 1996 (age 29)	0	0	Ongos Valley	v.  Zimbabwe; 10 October 2024PRE
GK	Branco Rukoro	(2005-05-01) 1 May 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Desert Rollers	2024 COSAFA Cup
DF	Vitapi Ngaruka	(1995-10-16) 16 October 1995 (age 29)	19	1	African Stars	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
DF	Tuli Nashixwa	(2002-05-23) 23 May 2002 (age 22)	7	0	Ramblers	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
DF	Kennedy Eib	(1997-05-15) 15 May 1997 (age 27)	4	0	Eeshoke Chula Chula	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
DF	David Aingwafa	Unknown	2	0	Eeshoke Chula Chula	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
DF	Abubakir Arend	(2002-03-17) 17 March 2002 (age 23)	1	0	Blue Waters	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
DF	Erasmus Ikeinge	(1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 30)	4	0	Khomas NAMPOL	v.  Lesotho; 3 November 2024
DF	Kennedy Amutenya	(1996-07-15) 15 July 1996 (age 28)	18	0	Gaborone United	v.  Zimbabwe; 14 October 2024
DF	Ndjiraeree Maharero	(1994-05-28) 28 May 1994 (age 30)	3	0	African Stars	2024 COSAFA Cup
MF	Lawrence Doeseb	(2003-06-04) 4 June 2003 (age 21)	5	1	Life Fighters	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
MF	Devin Somseb	(1995-05-29) 29 May 1995 (age 29)	4	0	United Africa Tigers	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
MF	Mbakondja Tjahikika	(2000-08-02) 2 August 2000 (age 24)	2	0	African Stars	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
MF	Simon Elago	(2002-10-07) 7 October 2002 (age 22)	5	0	Tura Magic	v.  Lesotho; 3 November 2024
MF	Romeo Kasume	(1997-10-21) 21 October 1997 (age 27)	12	0	Liria Prizren	v.  Zimbabwe; 14 October 2024
MF	Tjipe Karuuombe	(2001-09-21) 21 September 2001 (age 23)	10	1	Dinamo Tbilisi	v.  Kenya; 10 September 2024
MF	Edmar Kamatuka	(2002-07-26) 26 July 2002 (age 22)	9	0	UNAM	v.  Kenya; 10 September 2024
MF	Dawid Ndeunyema	(2002-08-22) 22 August 2002 (age 22)	5	0	Blue Waters	v.  Kenya; 10 September 2024
MF	Ben Richard Namib	(1999-08-20) 20 August 1999 (age 25)	5	0	Khomas NAMPOL	v.  Cambodia; 7 September 2024PRE
MF	Edmund Kambanda	(1993-02-25) 25 February 1993 (age 32)	13	1	African Stars	2024 COSAFA Cup
FW	Fares Haidula	(1993-10-17) 17 October 1993 (age 31)	6	0	Eeshoke Chula Chula	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
FW	Godwin Eiseb	(2000-05-04) 4 May 2000 (age 25)	4	1	African Stars	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
FW	Rewaldo Prins	(2003-02-25) 25 February 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Marumo Gallants	v.  Kenya, 19 November 2024
FW	Erastus Kulula	(1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 28)	9	1	Liria Prizren	v.  Zimbabwe; 14 October 2024
FW	George Frans	(1998-11-01) 1 November 1998 (age 26)	0	0	Khomas NAMPOL	v.  Cambodia; 7 September 2024PRE
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player has retired from international football. SUS Suspended from the national team.

Previous squads

Africa Cup of Nations squads

• 1998 African Cup of Nations squad
• 2008 Africa Cup of Nations squad
• 2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad
• 2023 Africa Cup of Nations squad

Player records

As of 19 November 2024^[7]

Players in bold are still active with Namibia.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Denzil Haoseb	83	0	2011–present
2	Deon Hotto	80	12	2013–present
3	Petrus Shitembi	79	4	2011–present
4	Ronald Ketjijere	69	2	2010–2019
5	Ananias Gebhardt	65	2	2011–present
6	Absalom Iimbondi	64	7	2015–present
	Willy Stephanus	64	3	2011–present
8	Johannes Hindjou	63	10	1996–2005
9	Larry Horaeb	61	0	2011–2021
10	Mohamed Ouseb	60	3	1994–2004
	Peter Shalulile	60	16	2014–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Peter Shalulile	16	60	0.27	2014–present
2	Rudolph Bester	13	46	0.28	2004–2014
3	Deon Hotto	12	80	0.15	2013–present
4	Gervatius Urikhob	11	40	0.28	1993–2003
5	Johannes Hindjou	10	63	0.16	1996–2005
7	Elmo Kambindu	9	30	0.3	2019–present
	Benson Shilongo	9	34	0.26	2011–2021
	Eliphas Shivute	9	37	0.24	1993–2001
9	Hendrik Somaeb	8	31	0.28	2011–2019
	Ruben van Wyk	8	33	0.24	1994–2002

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1990	Part of  South Africa									Part of  South Africa
1994	Did not qualify									4	0	0	4	0	12
1998										8	2	2	4	9	18
2002										10	1	3	6	7	27
2006										2	0	1	1	1	4
2010										6	2	0	4	7	12
2014										8	3	2	3	10	4
2018										4	1	1	2	3	5
2022										8	3	2	3	9	11
2026	To be determined									6	2	3	1	7	3
2030										To be determined
2034
Total	–	0/8	–	–	–	–	–	–		56	14	14	28	53	96

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1990	Part of  South Africa
1992 to 1994	Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify
1998	Group stage	14	3	0	1	2	7	11
2000	Did not qualify
2002
2004
2006
2008	Group stage	10	3	0	1	2	2	7
2010	Did not qualify
2012
2013
2015
2017
2019	Group stage	23rd	3	0	0	3	1	6
2021	Did not qualify
2023	Round of 16	15th	4	1	1	2	1	7
2025	Did not qualify
2027	To be determined
2029
Total	Round of 16	4/35	13	1	3	9	11	31

African Nations Championship

African Nations Championship record
Appearances: 2
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2009	Did not qualify
2011
2014
2016
2018	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	1	1	3	3
2020	Group stage	15th	3	0	1	2	0	4
2022	Did not enter
Total	Quarter-finals	2/7	7	2	2	3	3	7

COSAFA Cup

Main article: COSAFA Cup

Head-to-head record against other nations

Updated on 24 March 2025 after match against  Equatorial Guinea^[8]

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Algeria	4	0	0	4	0	7	−7
Angola	16	0	7	9	9	25	−16
Benin	2	1	0	1	8	4	+4
Botswana	20	2	11	7	18	19	−1
Burkina Faso	3	0	0	3	2	11	−9
Burundi	4	1	1	2	7	8	–1
Chad	4	3	0	1	7	4	+3
Cameroon	6	1	2	3	3	8	−5
Comoros	5	3	1	1	8	2	+6
Congo	6	1	2	3	3	9	−6
Djibouti	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4
DR Congo	3	1	1	1	7	4	+3
Egypt	6	0	1	5	6	23	−17
Eritrea	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3
Ethiopia	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2
Equatorial Guinea	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Gabon	2	0	2	0	2	2	0
Gambia	4	2	1	1	5	5	0
Ghana	3	0	1	2	0	2	−2
Guinea	10	1	2	7	4	19	−15
Guinea-Bissau	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1
India	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Ivory Coast	6	2	1	3	8	13	−5
Kenya	8	4	1	3	6	5	+1
Lebanon	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Lesotho	13	5	5	3	15	14	+1
Liberia	2	1	3	1	3	3	0
Libya	2	1	0	1	2	2	0
Madagascar	8	4	1	3	11	10	+1
Malawi	17	9	4	4	22	16	+6
Mali	8	1	3	4	4	8	−4
Mauritius	4	2	0	2	5	4	+1
Morocco	7	0	1	6	2	15	−13
Mozambique	20	10	6	4	25	14	+11
Niger	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
Nigeria	4	0	1	3	1	8	−7
Rwanda	4	0	3	1	3	6	−3
São Tomé and Príncipe	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Saudi Arabia	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2
Senegal	8	1	0	7	5	24	−19
Seychelles	7	4	3	0	15	5	+10
South Africa	14	1	5	8	10	27	−17
Eswatini	9	1	4	4	8	10	−2
Tanzania	4	0	2	2	1	4	−3
Togo	2	1	0	1	1	1	0
Tunisia	6	2	1	3	3	8	−5
Zambia	22	2	11	9	11	27	−16
Zimbabwe	15	7	0	8	26	29	–3
Total	303	80	89	134	294	413	−119

Honours

Regional

• COSAFA Cup
  • Winners (1): 2015
  • Runners-up (4): 1997, 1999, 2022, 2024

Notes