Namibia seek to complete WAFCON qualifier win over Eswatini

Namibia will look to complete the job when they host Eswatini in the second leg of their 2026 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on Wednesday.

Namibia lead 3-0 from the first leg played in Lobamba on Friday and will be hot favourites to advance to the next stage, where they will face fellow COSAFA powerhouse Zambia, who received a bye through the first round.

It was an accomplished performance in the first leg as Memory Ngonda gave Namibia the early lead, before Ivonne Kooper and Vanessa Kanyama added further goals, the latter netting a stunning long-range strike.

The win was achieved without several key players, including star midfielder Zenatha Coleman, which will have added extra gloss to the result.

“Overall it was a very good performance from the girls. They came into the match and showed up,” Namibia coach Woody Jacobs said. “Credit to the players for putting up a great fight against Eswatini. Now, our focus shifts to the second leg.

“I believe this will be a tough journey, and the job is far from finished. I don’t want our players to become complacent after Friday’s result and relax in the next encounter.”

Eswatini are hopeful they can turn around the score and compete in the second leg.

“We respected our opponents, which resulted in us conceding those goals. However, moving forward, we will rectify those mistakes,” Eswatini coach Bongani Makhukhula said.

Namibia also defeated Eswatini 2-0 when they met in the 2024 COSAFA Women’s Championship last October.

Twelve teams will qualify for the 2026 TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON.

Namibia have made a single continental finals appearance before when they played host in 2014, beating Zambia 2-0 but exiting in the first round after losses to Nigeria and Ivory Coast.