Namibia snatched a surprise berth at next year’s African Nations Cup finals in Ghana, scoring a stoppage time winner in a 3-2 victory at Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on Saturday.
Manu Katupose netted the decisive goal after Namibia, missing several of their regulars and given little chance of advancing, had twice come from behind in the second half.
The win enabled them to leapfrog the Democratic Republic of Congo at the top of Group 10 after the Congolese were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Libya.
The DRC miss out on the Nations Cup finals after eight successive appearances stretching back to 1992, their draw in Kinshasa coming despite the return of striker Shabani Nonda after a two-year absence.
The Galatasaray forward put the Congolese ahead at halftime with a 39th minute penalty but Khaled Hussein equalised for Libya early in the second half.
The draw set the stage for Namibia, who were trailing 1-0 at halftime but equalised when Rudolph Bester scored in the 64th minute.
Ethiopia moved 2-1 ahead two minutes later through Salhadin Said but Bester levelled again with just nine minutes remaining before the dramatic winner booked their ticket to Ghana.
Namibia’s only previous Nations Cup appearance was at the 1998 finals in Burkina Faso. – Reuters