Peter Shaluile opened the scoring to send Namibia on their way to a famous 2-1 victory over Cameroon on Tuesday, a victory that confirms their place at the Africa Cup of Nations next year.
The Brave Warriors took the lead in the 55th minute through the PSL top scorer, the second time in the space of four days that Shalulile has opened the scoring for Namibia against the Indomitable Lions.
On Friday, Olivier Kemen equalized to ensure the spoils were shared, however, on this occasion, Namibia found another gear, and Absalom Iimbondi added a second for the Warriors with 11 minutes to play in Johannesburg.
Vincent Aboubakar pulled one back for the visitors in the first minute of stoppage time, but it was too little, too late for the 2017 African champions.
Cameroon was unable to respond, leaving Namibia to celebrate a famous victory.
Shalulile’s latest strike was his third in three matches during the Nations Cup qualifying campaign, putting him two behind Victor Osimhen and Sadio Mane in the scoring charts for the program.
The forward has been in superb form this season, and currently leads the PSL scoring charts with 11 goals as the Brazilians have romped to a surely inevitable title.
The win takes Namibia up to five points after three matches, and mathematically, they can’t be caught by both Cameroon and Burundi.
Disqualified Kenya are out of the running, and with a superior head-to-head record against the Lions, Namibia will pip Rigobert Song’s side in the event that Burundi beat Namibia and draw with Cameroon.
It will be Namibia’s fourth-ever qualification for the continental showpiece, having been eliminated in the group stage in 2019 when they were defeated in all three of their group-stage games.
The next round of qualifiers takes place in June, where Cameroon will have to watch on anxiously as Burundi host Namibia.
Punch