Namibia returned from Reiden with two strong fifth-place finishes at the 2026 IFA U-18 World Championship in Switzerland.
Both the national women’s team and the U18 men’s side competed against high-level international opposition, producing several impressive performances and gaining valuable experience on the international stage.
Namibia’s U18 men’s team finished fifth at the U18 World Championship, equalling the country’s previous best result in the competition. Germany claimed the championship title, followed by Austria, Brazil and Switzerland, while Namibia finished ahead of Chile and New Zealand.
The young Namibian side faced some of the world’s strongest youth teams, suffering defeats against Germany, Austria and Brazil, as well as a 3-1 loss to Switzerland. The team responded strongly in its remaining matches, defeating Chile twice by 3-1 and recording convincing 3-0 victories over New Zealand.
Those results secured fifth place and capped a successful World Championship campaign for the young Namibian players. Namibia’s women’s national team also finished fifth, coming within one match of reaching the semi-finals at the Women’s European Championship. The team was granted special permission to compete in the European tournament despite Namibia not being a European nation, giving the players an opportunity to test themselves against some of the continent’s leading teams.
Germany won the European title, with Austria, Switzerland and Serbia completing the top four. Namibia’s closest battle came against Serbia, with the teams meeting twice in succession. Namibia won the first encounter 3-2 in a thrilling contest, moving them within touching distance of a place in the semi-finals.
Serbia, however, responded in the decisive second meeting, edging Namibia 3-2 to narrowly end the African side’s hopes of reaching the final four. Despite missing out on the semi-finals, Namibia’s performance demonstrated that the team can compete with established European opponents.
With both national teams finishing fifth in their respective championships, Namibia leaves Reiden with valuable international experience, strong performances and plenty of positives to build on ahead of future competitions.
By Rudi Bowe
