FULL TIME l South Africa 4-2 Zambia (Steven Mendez 62′,84′, Quarabile 60, Emile Witboi 90+ l Duncan Musialela 28′, Jonathan Kalimina 76′)
Amajita came from a goal down to beat Zambia 3-2 in the Cosafa U20 Cup in Mozambique.
South Africa have qualified for AFCON.
13:50 Substitution – Zambia
Thomas Zulu, Nyirongo and Mwape are replaced by Sipho Mutanga, Daniel Silubonde and Kampamba
13:45 GOAL ALERT! South Africa 3-2 Zambia (Steven Mendez 62′,84′, l Duncan Musialela 28′, Jonathan Kalimina)
Steven Mendez sends Kanyangulu in the wrong way.
Mendez’s brace takes him to 5 goals of the tournament. Joint top scorer with Mozambique’s Cuan.
13:49 Penalty – South Africa
Kalimina is sent off for hand ball.
13:39 The two sides have won 22 titles between them
Zambia and South Africa have it 12 and 10 time respectively
13:37 South Africa 2-2 Zambia (Steven Mendez 62′, l Duncan Musialela 28′, Jonathan Kalimina 75′)
A long throw in is nodded by Daka as Kalimina heads home for an equaliser.
13:39 Substitution – Zambia
Billy Daka and Gibson Mooya in for Duncan Musialela and Chinunda Kayula.
Daka will partner Nyirongo upfront
13:26 GOAL ALERT! South Africa 2-1 Zambia (Steven Mendez 62′, l Duncan Musialela 28′)
Two quick goals from the Amajita
13:24 GOAL ALERT! South Africa 1-1 Zambia (Mendez l Duncan Musialela 28′)
13:32 Penalty to Amajita
Kaizer Chiefs’ Mendez beats Hendrix Kanyangulu in goal.
13:21 Substitution – South Africa
The highly rated Emile Witboi has been introduced
13:15 VAR Check
The referee check is done. No penalty
13:00 Second half underway
Zambia is 45 minutes away from reaching the final.
Host Mozambique and Namibia will play in the other semi final.
12:53 Half Time : South Africa 0-1 Zambia (Duncan Musialela 28′)
A good performance from Zambia.
12:40 Zambia in mid-block
The Junior Chipolopolo are sitting back and allowing Amajita to take control of the game.
12:29 GOAL ALERT! South Africa 0-1 Zambia (Duncan Musialela 28′)
Green Eagles midfielder Duncan Musialela scores from close range for Zambia
12:24 Cooling break
South Africa have been suffocated. No shot on target.
12:17 Wave after wave from Zambia
Zambia have been unstoppable in the last 5 minutes. South Africa are barely surviving
12:13 Double save from Amajita goalkeeper
Thomas Mwanza dribbles past the full back and lays it for Tumelo Mununga who hits straight into the goalkeeper.
Jonathan Kalimina’s shot is parried for a corner kick.
12:10 Zambia pressing well
Abel Nyiringo is leading the press and preventing the South Africans from playing.
12:00 We are underway
Amajita in Gold and Green while Zambia is in all White.
11:45 The South African U20 Men’s National Team are just one match away from qualifying for the CAF U20 Men’s Africa Cup of Nations 2027, but have Zambia standing in their way.
11: 43 The two nations go into battle on Friday in the semi-finals of the 2026 COSAFA Cup with a place at the continental finals up for grabs. Kickoff is at 12h00 at the ABB Stadium in Matola, Mozambique.
South Africa are the defending champions of the regional championship, and the match up against Zambia is a repeat of the 2024 final won 2-0 by Amajita.
11:35 Semi-final Fixtures:
Friday, 25 September 2026 – ABB 1
16h00:
Winner Group B (South Africa) vs Winner Group C (Zambia)
19h00:
Winner Group A (Namibia) vs Best Runner-up (Angola)
Sunday, 27 September 2026 – ABB 1
15h00:
Third-place play-off
18h30:
Final
10:00 Junior Chipolopolo, Amajita renew rivalry
The win sees South Africa on nine points and top of Group B. They are yet to conceded after scoring seven goals in the process. Amajita have set up a much-anticipated clash in the semi-finals against Zambia, who claimed Group C. The match takes place on Friday.
“I hope it’s going to be a very good game. This is the decider for qualifying, and it needs full focus and commitment of the players,” added Mdaka.
Group A winners Namibia will face off against hosts Mozambique, who knocked out Angola on Fair Play points after both sides were level on points as well as goals scored and conceded.
