With their dreams of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations on the line, Burundi welcome Namibia to the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the away side head into this one needing just a share of the spoils to confirm their place at next year's continental event.

Match preview

Burundi played out a 2-2 stalemate against Indonesia when the teams went head-to-head in an international friendly at Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium on March 28.

After going behind to Witan's opener right on the hour mark, Etienne Ndayiragije's men turned the game on its head through strikes from Saido Berahino and Abedi Bigirimana before Jordi Amat levelled matters in second-half stoppage time.

Consequently, Les Hirondelles have now won just one of their last six matches across all competitions since beating Liberia 2-1 back in March 2022.

Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little separating the sides judging by their three previous encounters, which have yielded one win apiece and a draw.

Unbeaten in all but one of their last seven matches on home turf, Tuesday's hosts will approach what is now a must-win game in front of their fans with plenty of optimism.

Namibia claimed an impressive 2-1 victory against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon at the Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg on March 28.

Collin Benjamin's men put themselves in the driving seat thanks to strikes from Peter Shalulile and Absalom Limbondi before Vincent Aboubakar pulled one back in second-half stoppage time.

With five points amassed from their three qualifiers so far, the Brave Warriors sit top of Group C heading into the penultimate round of matches.

Currently on a run of just one loss in five away games leading up to Tuesday's affair, the visitors just need to avoid defeat on the road once again to be in the hat for the 2024 AFCON.

Team News

Namibia's Peter Shalulile is definitely one to look out for here having found the back of the net 17 times for club and country since the turn of the year.

Shalulie, who currently leads his country's all-time scoring chart, is also closing in on half a century of caps for the away side as he prepares to make his 49th appearance.

Jospin Nshimirimana already boasts eight goals from just 13 outings for Namibia, and the 21-year-old will aim to deliver the goods once again.

Despite having not featured at club level for over a month, skipper Saido Berahino will be expected to retain his place in the hosts' starting XI.

Burundi possible starting lineup:
Rukundo; Nduwarugira, Harerimana, Nshimirimana, Ndayishimiye; Nahimana, Nshimirimana, Bigirimana; Shabani, Bimenyimana, Berahino

Namibia possible starting lineup:
Kazapua; Hanamub, Gebhardt, Hambira, Kamberipa; Wesley, Haoseb; Hotto, Shitembi, Rudath; Shalulile

We say: Burundi 1-0 Namibia

Knowing that anything less than three points here would spell the end of their AFCON aspirations, we expect Burundi to be fully up for this one, and coupled with the added advantage of playing on home turf, we fancy the hosts to secure a narrow victory at the end of the 90 minutes.


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