Russia Runs Riot

Namibia suffered one of its heaviest defeats in history, losing 6-0 to Russia at Yekaterinburg on Saturday evening. The result matched the severity of previous landmark defeats, including Namibia’s 5-0 loss to Angola in the 2024 Cosafa Cup final and earlier international defeats against Egypt (8-2 in 2001 and 7-1 in 1996). Namibia held Russia at bay for much of the first half, trailing 1-0 at halftime after Peter Shalulile’s chance went wide. Russia dominated after the break, scoring through Lechi Sadulaev, Danil Prutsev, Konstantin Tyukavin and Maksim Glushenkov, with Petrov converting a penalty and an own goal by goalkeeper Kamaijanda Ndisiro sealing the rout. Russia entered as heavy favorites, with FIFA rankings of 35 versus Namibia’s 122.