- According to the FIFA rankings, Namibia is 87 places lower than Tunisia
- Ghana, Egypt and Nigeria have all already been spooked by the competition
- CHRIS SUTTON: Don’t wait! Sir Jim Ratcliffe must now fire Erik ten Hag It all starts
Namibia sealed their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations victory on Tuesday evening with a huge upset over 2004 winners Tunisia.
The Brave Warriors are currently ranked 115th in the world by FIFA and have never won a match at the tournament before, despite three appearances in the competition in their history.
However, their first match of the 2023 edition proved to be a history maker, with former international Collin Benjamin overseeing a maiden victory in dramatic circumstances.
With the match heading for a dull 0-0 draw – which at the time of writing would have been the first of the tournament – Orlando Pirates’ Deon Hotto came up with the goods to make it three huge points for his side.
Bethuel Muzeu had only come off the bench twenty minutes earlier, but sent in a sublime cross from deep on the left flank, which Hotto stormed into before heading high into the roof of the goal from close range.
Deon Hotto scored the historic goal that sealed Namibia’s first ever victory at the Africa Cup of Nations
The goal sparked jubilation from the entire team, with the whistle also greeted with an outpouring of emotions.
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Hotto charged straight towards the fans, jumping over the billboards around the pitch and trying to get closer to the supporters, followed by his delighted teammates as Namibia really got into the moment.
The final whistle blew moments later, confirming a historic evening for the Brave Warriors – and one to forget for Tunisia.
At full time, most of the Namibian bench sprinted onto the field to revel in their performance.
But for one substitute it was clearly an emotional evening, with the player sitting on one knee on the touchline with his head in his hands, seemingly moved to tears.
Tunisian fans seemed stunned and incredulous at the result in Ivory Coast, their side the more favored of the two, ranked 28th in the world by FIFA and present at the last World Cup where they famously defeated France by 1- 0 defeated.
But the cheers of the victors were a near-perfect combination, with supporters dancing with joy in the crowd.
The players were apparently a little more bothered by the result and crowded around goalkeeper Lloyd Kazapua, who was on his knees and pointing to the sky deep in thought.
Such was the effort from the underdogs that captain Peter Shalulile sat in the center circle and stretched his legs to avoid cramps, but he could not join his teammates.
The Brave Warriors will next take on neighbors South Africa, before taking on Mali in their final Group E match
Tunisia and Namibia are drawn in Group E alongside Mali and South Africa, who faced each other at the later kick-off.
It has already been an AFCON full of setbacks as we approach the end of the first round of competition.
Cape Verde defeated Ghana after an injury-time winner from Garry Rodrigues following a defensive howl from the Black Stars – four-time winners of the competition.
Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah and Egypt were denied an opening win by Mozambique, with Liverpool’s talisman saving a point with a 97th-minute penalty, and Nigeria were held by Equatorial Guinea.