Morocco 1 - 0 Namibia (FT)

[oloye]

Hahaha what was blondie thinking heading the ball like that... What a heart breaker.. They came so close

[Cito]

Deserved goal. Valiant effort but better team is winning.

[Kabalega]

Namibia proving there are no small teams in African football anymore.

Personally, I have been very impressed with the tactical awareness and technical abilities of African footballers. We have come a long way. Now if only our local and continental leagues could catch up to the skill levels.

They have looked a well disciplined side, I think that has helped them greatly inspire of their limitations. Watching them I can understand how they qualified.

One other thing to add. The officiating has been outstanding in all the games we have seen so far.
And all this without VAR. I have not seen one missed call, not to talk of controversy.

International competitions need more African refs.

The Moroccan ref should have given a penalty in the Uganda vs DRC game.

[Tobi17]

Very sad for Namibia, imagine fighting hard all game only to concede via an own goal in the dying minutes.

[oloye]

Morrocans have always been blessed with good keepers, looks like they breed them specifically. Height, stature everything looks perfect to be a keeper

[zee]

Hahaha what was blondie thinking heading the ball like that... What a heart breaker.. They came so close

Like I said in Burundi match thread...............the difference b/w teams like Nigeria and the Burundi/Namibia type of teams is the bench of the teams.
Namibia made a change and he scored an owngoal.

[Tobi17]

Deserved goal. Valiant effort but better team is winning.

Morocco have been all huff and puff, I'm sure they couldn't believe their luck been a goal up via an unfortunate own goal.

[maceo4]

Poor guy, feel bad for the guy that scored the own goal. Namibia def deserves a tie.

[oloye]

I can only imagine how terrible that Namibian guy must be feeling now. I hope they have someone in the camp who can counsel the guy.

[charlie]

Very sad for Namibia, imagine fighting hard all game only to concede via an own goal in the dying minutes.

Thats the danger of parking the bus. One mistake, moment of madness, and all your efforts are wasted.

[Cito]

Deserved goal. Valiant effort but better team is winning.

Morocco have been all huff and puff, I'm sure they couldn't believe their luck been a goal up via an unfortunate own goal.

You mean Namibia is better or what is your point?

[oloye]

Very sad for Namibia, imagine fighting hard all game only to concede via an own goal in the dying minutes.

Thats the danger of parking the bus. One mistake, moment of madness, and all your efforts are wasted.

A team can only play to its strength Charlie. If they bomb forward they would be killed. Moreover to go forward requires the right personnel as well.

[charlie]

I can only imagine how terrible that Namibian guy must be feeling now. I hope they have someone in the camp who can counsel the guy.

That FK was very hard to defend. If he left it, the Moroccan player was waiting to tap it back in. And the ball was hit with movement and with pace.

Really well taken FK. Hard to criticize the defender too much for the OG.

[ElHadary]

Well it took the Moroccans 89' to finally find a true striker in Itamunua Keimuine

[charlie]

Very sad for Namibia, imagine fighting hard all game only to concede via an own goal in the dying minutes.

Thats the danger of parking the bus. One mistake, moment of madness, and all your efforts are wasted.

A team can only play to its strength Charlie. If they bomb forward they would be killed. Moreover to go forward requires the right personnel as well.

I agree! Namibia had no choice. Just as we had no choice against France.

The Italians are the only team I know that have mastered the art of defending for 120 mins without making killer errors.

[oloye]

I can only imagine how terrible that Namibian guy must be feeling now. I hope they have someone in the camp who can counsel the guy.

That FK was very hard to defend. If he left it, the Moroccan player was waiting to tap it back in. And the ball was hit with movement and with pace.

Really well taken FK. Hard to criticize the defender too much for the OG.

It was the shape of his body, he should not be facing his own goal, never, especially if you are going to touch the ball

[oloye]

Very sad for Namibia, imagine fighting hard all game only to concede via an own goal in the dying minutes.

Thats the danger of parking the bus. One mistake, moment of madness, and all your efforts are wasted.

A team can only play to its strength Charlie. If they bomb forward they would be killed. Moreover to go forward requires the right personnel as well.

I agree! Namibia had no choice. Just as we had no choice against France.

The Italians are the only team I know that have mastered the art of defending for 120 mins without making killer errors.

Because in Italy defending is an art.

[charlie]

I can only imagine how terrible that Namibian guy must be feeling now. I hope they have someone in the camp who can counsel the guy.

That FK was very hard to defend. If he left it, the Moroccan player was waiting to tap it back in. And the ball was hit with movement and with pace.

Really well taken FK. Hard to criticize the defender too much for the OG.

It was the shape of his body, he should not be facing his own goal, never

How do you run back towards your goal to defend a curving ball like that and still keep your back to the goal?

Abeg, do you have a video showing the right way to defend that play?

[charlie]

Its bizarre seeing Emmanuel Amunike sitting next to Aliou Cisse, but he is repping Tanzania.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Morrocans have always been blessed with good keepers, looks like they breed them specifically. Height, stature everything looks perfect to be a keeper

The fact that they’re born and raised in France has nothing to do with it? Please drop these archaic ways of thinking.

[oloye]

I can only imagine how terrible that Namibian guy must be feeling now. I hope they have someone in the camp who can counsel the guy.

That FK was very hard to defend. If he left it, the Moroccan player was waiting to tap it back in. And the ball was hit with movement and with pace.

Really well taken FK. Hard to criticize the defender too much for the OG.

It was the shape of his body, he should not be facing his own goal, never

How do you run back towards your goal to defend a curving ball like that and still keep your back to the goal?

Abeg, do you have a video showing the right way to defend that play?

Not back, I was corrected of this error in my high school days,you run sideways. His error was made right from the beginning running back into his own box like an attacker while defending a cross. Wingers are encourage to flog a killer cross into the box, sometimes it is not to find their own player, it is meant to be a trap for defenders or any defending player badly positioned. Many clever defenders simply leave the ball, it often catches the lurking attacker by surprise. If you are running into you box fully facing your goal, you are a candidate for an own goal. A d it will look spectacular when it happens

[vancity eagle]

Namibia proving there are no small teams in African football anymore.

Personally, I have been very impressed with the tactical awareness and technical abilities of African footballers. We have come a long way. Now if only our local and continental leagues could catch up to the skill levels.

They have looked a well disciplined side, I think that has helped them greatly inspire of their limitations. Watching them I can understand how they qualified.

One other thing to add. The officiating has been outstanding in all the games we have seen so far.
And all this without VAR. I have not seen one missed call, not to talk of controversy.

International competitions need more African refs.

I have noticed this as well.

The African refs have been much better than the South American ones at the Copa, AND THEY HAVE VAR

However I wouldn't get to carried away yet. The tournament is young, and aFrican refs have been horrible in the past. Let us also see how they handle VAR after the 2nd round.

[charlie]

I can only imagine how terrible that Namibian guy must be feeling now. I hope they have someone in the camp who can counsel the guy.

That FK was very hard to defend. If he left it, the Moroccan player was waiting to tap it back in. And the ball was hit with movement and with pace.

Really well taken FK. Hard to criticize the defender too much for the OG.

It was the shape of his body, he should not be facing his own goal, never

How do you run back towards your goal to defend a curving ball like that and still keep your back to the goal?

Abeg, do you have a video showing the right way to defend that play?

Not back, I was corrected of this error in my high school days,you run sideways. His error was made right from the beginning running back into his own box like an attacker while defending a cross. Wingers are encourage to flog a killer cross into the box, sometimes it is not to find their own player, it is meant to be a trap for defenders or any defending player badly positioned. Many clever defenders simply leave the ball, it often catches the lurking attacker by surprise. If you are running into you box fully facing your goal, you are a candidate for an own goal. A d it will look spectacular when it happens

So given his already bad positioning, the smarter play was just to let the ball go ...makes sense.

Thanks for the coaching boss!