Stephen Dunmoye
Brave warriors of Namibia has made history in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON, after stunning Tunisia to record their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations win.
Deon Hotto popped up with an 89th-minute header from close range in Monday’s entertaining Group E opener for the impressive Brave Warriors, who continued a theme of upsets during the initial stages of the latest AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast.
It follows Cape Verde’s stunning last-gasp victory over Ghana on Sunday, with seven-time winners Egypt also having needed a late penalty to avoid a shock loss to Mozambique.
Nigeria and Algeria were also held into a draw by Equatorial Guinea and Angola respectively in their opening matches as the bigger nations continue to struggle early on.
Hotto scored a second goal in stoppage time for Namibia at Korhogo’s Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, but that was rightly ruled out for offside.
The Orlando Pirates star was a thorn in Tunisia’s side all evening, working in tandem with Namibia’s captain and record scorer Peter Shalulile.
Namibia boss Collin Benjamin also had goalkeeper Lloyd Kazapua to thank for a string of five saves to keep Tunisia at bay and help condemn the Eagles of Carthage to a shock opening defeat that leaves them with plenty of work to do in a group that also contains Mali and returning South Africa.
