CASABLANCA, Namibia’s dream of reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN 2018) has come to an end following their 0-2 defeat by host nation Morocco in Casablanca Saturday.
Namibia, who finished the preliminary stage as group runner-up behind Group B winners Zambia, met the host nation in their fourth match at the championship but their hopes of reaching the semi-finals were cut short as goals in each half of the match from Ayoub El Kaabi and Salaheddine Saidi were enough for Morocco to proceed to the penultimate stage of the competition.
The Namibian team found it difficult to find the back of the net as their only goal in the game, which came from an Absalom Iimbondi free-kick and headed in by Charles Hambira in the 69th minute, was disallowed by the referee for a foul on a Moroccan defender.
Addressing the media after the game, Namibia’s coach, Ricardo Mannetti, said the level of football by the Moroccan team and individual quality were key to the host nation winning the game.
“We did well under the circumstance of playing against a well-oiled machine today, but my boys came to show they deserve to be here with their brilliant performance against the host team,” he said.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK