Zimbabwe end FIH Women’s Junior World Cup campaign with victory over Namibia

By Zim Sport Live Writer

Zimbabwe’s Junior Women’s Hockey team wrapped up their FIH Junior Women’s World Cup campaign on a positive note after securing a hard-fought 2–1 victory over regional rivals Namibia in Santiago, Chile, to finish 23rd overall out of 24 teams.

The win marked a significant turnaround for the Young Mighty Ladies, who had suffered a heavy 6–0 defeat to Namibia during the Africa qualifiers in April 2025. Their latest success underlined the team’s impressive growth and resilience over the past few months on the international stage.

Namibia drew first blood in the sixth minute when Maryke Kruger converted a penalty corner to put her side ahead. However, Zimbabwe responded with determination, as Nyasha Bvute found the equaliser before the end of the opening quarter to level the contest.

Zimbabwe maintained their momentum after the break and were rewarded in the third quarter when Panaka Kambadza struck the decisive goal to seal a morale-boosting victory in the classification match.

The triumph over Namibia came just days after Zimbabwe were narrowly edged out by Malaysia in a tense 23rd–24th place playoff. The two sides were locked at 3–3 after regulation time before Malaysia claimed a 5–3 win in the penalty shootout during Wednesday’s classification match.

Despite the heartbreak, Zimbabwe delivered a spirited performance against a strong Malaysian outfit, pushing the match to penalties after an intense encounter. Malaysia later went on to finish 22nd following a 3–1 defeat to Austria.

Earlier in the tournament, Zimbabwe endured a tough run of fixtures against some of the world’s top junior sides, suffering defeats to Argentina (13–0), Wales (3–0), Belgium (21–0) and hosts Chile (6–1).

While the results highlighted the gap between Zimbabwe and the global elite, the victory over Namibia provided a positive conclusion and valuable experience for a young squad continuing to build towards future international competitions.