South Africa and Zambia sealed their places in the semifinals of the TotalEnergies U17 AFCON Algeria 2023 | COSAFA Qualifier in Lilongwe on Monday with victories over Mozambique and Seychelles respectively in Group B.
Both now have six points at the top of the pool and cannot be caught, though who finishes first will be decided when the pair square-off on Wednesday.
The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals, while the two finalists in the competition, which also forms part of the Region 5 Games Lilongwe 2022, book themselves a place at the continental finals that will be held in Algeria in April.
South Africa made it two wins from two when they defeated Mozambique 1-0, with Siyabonga Mabena capitalising on a defensive error to score his sixth goal of the competition.
The South Africans had the better chances in the game, but Mozambique made it difficult for them and held out until Mabena stole the ball off a defender in possession and cooly slotted home his shot.
Zambia claimed a rampant 7-1 victory over 10-man Seychelles to also keep up a 100% record in the pool stages so far.
Emmanuel Mwanza netted five goals in a superb individual performance after Seychelles had received a red card in the first half. It was a chance for Zambia to flex their muscles that they did not miss.
South Africa and Zambia now play for top spot in the pool with the former needing just a draw to secure it.
The two qualifiers in Group A will be decided on Tuesday when Botswana meet Namibia at 12h00 in a winner-takes-all battle, though a draw will be enough to see Botswana advance.
Malawi have already qualified for semis, but could be toppled from top spot in the pool if Botswana win by two clear goals, or a single-goal victory with two or more strikes in their favour to give them the better record on goals scored.
The semifinal line-up is complete at the COSAFA Girls’ Under-17 Championship where defending champions Zambia will take on hosts Malawi on Wednesday (kickoff 08h30 CAT), and South Africa tackle Botswana on Thursday (18h30 CAT).
The final pool matches played on Monday, where there were massive wins for the Zambian and Malawian girls.
Zambia ensured top spot in Group B with a 10-0 win over Comoros, a game in which Lubasi Pumulo scored a hattrick, and Harriet Matipa grabbed a brace as well. There were seven scorers in all as the team shared the goals around.
But Malawi went two better than that as they defeated Namibia 12-0 to finish second in Group A. It is the second time the Namibians had let in a dozen in the competition.
Rose Kadzere shot to the top of the scorers charts with her five goals, while Faith Chinzimu also claimed a hattrick and Leticia Chinyamula got a brace.
Zambia and South Africa both finished with a full haul of six points to top their pool, while Malawi and Botswana had three each and will likely be their underdogs going into their semis.
In all, there have been 52 goals scored in the six games in the highly-entertaining Girls’ competition, which like the Boys’ is being played as part of the Region 5 Games Lilongwe 2022.
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