Junior men secure first-ever World Cup win
Hockey
Namibia secured a historic 4-2 win over Egypt in the second match of their FIH Men’s Junior World Cup debut tournament, building on their strong showing at the 2025 Junior Africa Cup where they also defeated Egypt 3-1 in Windhoek.
Sunday’s victory in Madurai, India, highlighted the growth, resilience and ambition of Namibia’s men to challenge among the established powers in field hockey on the global stage.
After a goalless opening period, Namibia found momentum in the second quarter through goals from Liam Bruys and James de Jager.
Egypt responded before half time via Kasem Abdelrahman, but early in the third period, Josh van der Merwe restored Namibia’s two-goal cushion with a well worked finish.
Egypt struck again through Mohab Hegab to make it 3-2, setting up a tense final spell. With six minutes remaining, Gerhard Myburgh was shown a yellow card, but Namibia held firm.
Team captain John-Paul Britz then converted a crucial penalty corner to seal the 4-2 result.
Player of the match Van der Merwe expressed his delight afterwards. “(This award) is honestly really cool, but the win is so much sweeter. I am happy about this, but it is amazing to win with the boys and keep our World Cup dream alive. This is not the end. We are going further (in the tournament).”
Britz praised the character shown by the group.
“I really cannot put it into words, but I am proud of the boys for sticking it through. It was a great bounce back after our first result (against Belgium).
“We knew defence would win us the match and then we took our chances. We had a few more chances we could have finished, but we are happy with the result.”
Abraham Graham, who assisted Van der Merwe’s goal, highlighted the team’s unity. “Thank you to everyone at home for always backing us. One big thing about us is we never give up and we trust each other. If one person does not have, another gives. This team shows that unity, so thank you Namibia, keep backing us.”
Group standings
Spain lead Pool D with two wins from two, scoring ten goals without conceding. Belgium are second, Namibia third after their historic victory, and Egypt fourth.
Spain’s Pere Amat, player of the match in their 2-0 win over Belgium on Sunday, looked ahead to facing Namibia next on Tuesday.
“We think they will come and play hard like all teams. We prepare the same for every opponent. Every team is strong at a World Cup. We will try to do our best and have a good game,” Amat said.
Day one in Group D
Belgium opened with a dominant 12-1 win over Namibia, although the African debutants celebrated a milestone with Mathew Lassen scoring off a corner – the country’s first-ever goal at any FIH World Cup in field hockey.
The performance against Egypt also showed that the Namibians under coaches Johann Weyhe, Randy Slabbert and Brynn Cleak have taken the lessons to heart.
Belgium’s Mathis Lauwers netted four, Hugo Labouchere added a hat-trick and captain Lucas Balthazar scored twice.
Spain defeated Egypt 8-0, led by Bruno Avila’s hat-trick, with Josep Martin striking twice. Albert Serrahima, Ton Moran and Andres Medina also scored.
Group D next fixtures – Tuesday 02 December
Namibia vs Spain at 07:30 (Namibian time)
Egypt vs Belgium at 09:45 (Namibian time)
Sunday’s victory in Madurai, India, highlighted the growth, resilience and ambition of Namibia’s men to challenge among the established powers in field hockey on the global stage.
After a goalless opening period, Namibia found momentum in the second quarter through goals from Liam Bruys and James de Jager.
Egypt responded before half time via Kasem Abdelrahman, but early in the third period, Josh van der Merwe restored Namibia’s two-goal cushion with a well worked finish.
Egypt struck again through Mohab Hegab to make it 3-2, setting up a tense final spell. With six minutes remaining, Gerhard Myburgh was shown a yellow card, but Namibia held firm.
Team captain John-Paul Britz then converted a crucial penalty corner to seal the 4-2 result.
Player of the match Van der Merwe expressed his delight afterwards. “(This award) is honestly really cool, but the win is so much sweeter. I am happy about this, but it is amazing to win with the boys and keep our World Cup dream alive. This is not the end. We are going further (in the tournament).”
Britz praised the character shown by the group.
“I really cannot put it into words, but I am proud of the boys for sticking it through. It was a great bounce back after our first result (against Belgium).
“We knew defence would win us the match and then we took our chances. We had a few more chances we could have finished, but we are happy with the result.”
Abraham Graham, who assisted Van der Merwe’s goal, highlighted the team’s unity. “Thank you to everyone at home for always backing us. One big thing about us is we never give up and we trust each other. If one person does not have, another gives. This team shows that unity, so thank you Namibia, keep backing us.”
Group standings
Spain lead Pool D with two wins from two, scoring ten goals without conceding. Belgium are second, Namibia third after their historic victory, and Egypt fourth.
Spain’s Pere Amat, player of the match in their 2-0 win over Belgium on Sunday, looked ahead to facing Namibia next on Tuesday.
“We think they will come and play hard like all teams. We prepare the same for every opponent. Every team is strong at a World Cup. We will try to do our best and have a good game,” Amat said.
Day one in Group D
Belgium opened with a dominant 12-1 win over Namibia, although the African debutants celebrated a milestone with Mathew Lassen scoring off a corner – the country’s first-ever goal at any FIH World Cup in field hockey.
The performance against Egypt also showed that the Namibians under coaches Johann Weyhe, Randy Slabbert and Brynn Cleak have taken the lessons to heart.
Belgium’s Mathis Lauwers netted four, Hugo Labouchere added a hat-trick and captain Lucas Balthazar scored twice.
Spain defeated Egypt 8-0, led by Bruno Avila’s hat-trick, with Josep Martin striking twice. Albert Serrahima, Ton Moran and Andres Medina also scored.
Group D next fixtures – Tuesday 02 December
Namibia vs Spain at 07:30 (Namibian time)
Egypt vs Belgium at 09:45 (Namibian time)
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