Namibia lose first match against China

BRESCHNEFF KATJAIMO A huge crowd and Namibia’s inexperience worked in China’s favour yesterday evening, when the East Asian nation beat the Namibian under-23 squad in their international football match. The match was the first ever to be played between the two countries, which have signed different working and political agreements. On the field, China scored two goals in the first half, before adding another two in the second half to lead by four goals to nil. However, Namibia's playmaker Anthony Khan, who came fresh off the bench, managed a brace in the dying minutes of the game to change the score to 4-2 . Close to 20 000 spectators stormed to the Wanzhou Chongqing Stadium, singing and shouting in support of their country's team. Namibia's under 23 captain Pandeni Kandjambanga believes, 'that the huge crowd negatively affected' his team’s performance in the pitch. "We hardly see that in Namibia, as none of us have played before such a crowd. Secondly, they wet the grass just five minutes before the game, and seroiusly we are not used to this.” explained Kandjambaga. He, however, also gave credit to the Chinese for being extremely well-prepared opponents. " Their players were also well-prepared, and we are learning a lot from these guys. We are actual getting exposure." added Kandjambanga. Both sides will face each other again on Thursday before Team Namibia returns home.

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Brechneff Katjaimo