BOUAKE: Namibia produced the biggest shock so far in an Africa Cup of Nations full of upsets in the Ivory Coast, defeating former champions Tunisia 1-0 on Tuesday.
The Brave Warriors achieved a historic first victory in the flagship African event, defeating and drawing with another strong team, Cameroon, in qualifications for the 2024 edition.
Deon Hotto scored the only goal in Group E’s opening encounter with two minutes of regular time remaining, bringing the total number of surprise results to six from ten matches after only four days.
Before Namibia defied the world rankings in the northern city of Korhogo, five other previous champions failed to win their first matches.
Cape Verde scored in extra time to overcome Ghana, Africa’s third most successful team with four titles.
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Guinea’s 10-man squad held five-time champions Cameroon on Monday, while Angola recovered from a dismal first half performance to tie 1-1 with Algeria, who have conquered Africa twice.
Tunisia is now ranked third among 54 African football nations, trailing only Morocco, the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists, and Senegal, the Cup of Nations defending champions.
They are also 87 places higher in the world rankings than Namibia, giving them strong favourites to open their group campaign on a victorious note.
While Tunisia easily qualified for the Ivory Coast, Namibia had to overcome a number of off-field challenges before earning a spot.
