FIFA's Disciplinary Committee announced that it has imposed sanctions on the Equatorial Guinean FA and player Emilio Nsuè López, who was ineligible to play for them in World Cup qualifier matches against Namibia and Liberia, as he was not cleared by that time.

The player in question, Emilio Nsue Lopez, 34 years of age, has Spanish citizenship and has applied to change allegiance to Equatorial Guinea. However, while the process was ongoing, the country used the player in the two World Cup qualifier matches against Namibia and Liberia, which FIFA found to be an oversight from the country's football association.

As a result, the player has been suspended for 6 months, and a 3-0 win has been forfeited to both Namibia and Liberia, while the country's FA has been penalized to pay 2 million dollars.

As things stand, Namibia joined Tunisia on top of the group standings with 6 points after Namibia beat Sao Tome in their other match in the World Cup qualifier.

This stroke of luck came at the right time for Brave Warriors head coach Collin Benjamin and his team, who now need to beat both Tunisia and Liberia in June to stand a good chance of qualifying for the group stage of the qualifiers for a place to book their ticket to the 2026 World Cup edition in the US, Canada, and Mexico. 

Namibia, who reached the Round of 16 at this year's Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast for the first time ever, has never been to the World Cup before, but the possibility might be there depending on how they will fare in their quest this time around. Namibia, who reached the Round of 16 at this year's Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast for the first time ever, has never been to the World Cup before, but the possibility might be there depending on how they will fare in their quest this time around.