Zambia and South Africa have booked their places in the final of the TotalEnergies U17 AFCON Algeria 2023 | COSAFA Qualifier after each came through tough semifinal ties at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Friday.
In doing so both have also both earned a spot in the continental finals when the TotalEnergies U17 AFCON Algeria 2023 are played in April. For Zambia it will be a second appearance, and for South Africa a fourth.
Zambia sealed their place following a see-saw semifinal against Botswana where they eventually ran out 4-2 winners.
They led 2-0 at halftime thanks to headed goals from Samson Malaya and Luketekelo Kapowa, but Botswana never gave up and ended up level. Bonniface Manapolo pulled a goal back from the penalty-spot before Losika Ratshukudu netted his third goal of the tournament to make the score 2-2.
It could have gone either way from there, but Zambia, who have been runners-up in the last two COSAFA Under-17 tournaments, sealed their final place as Marcel Zimba put them ahead and Kapowa got the insurance goal late on.
South Africa were made to work hard by Malawi but triumphed 5-1 in their semifinal.
They took the lead in the first half thanks to a screamer fromThato Sibiya as he blasted the ball into the net from 25 yards.
They doubled their lead a minute after the break when tournament top-scorer Siyabonga Mabena netted his seventh of the campaign as he ran onto a long ball to score.
The home side were given hope when Lucky Mkandawire scrambled in a goal to halve the deficit after South Africa failed to clear a corner, but the visitors restored their two-goal advantage when Dhakier Lee found himself one-on-one with the keeper and made no mistake.
Mabena put the cherry on top with a fourth on the night as he converted a penalty, and then completed his hattrick in injury-time to take his tournament tally to nine.
Sunday’s final will be staged at 17h30 CAT, while the bronze medal match between Botswana and Malawi will be at 11h30 CAT.
Meanwhile, the third-place play-off in the COSAFA Girls’ Under-17 Championship will be played on Saturday when hosts Malawi take on Botswana at 19h00 CAT.
It is a chance for both teams to walk away with a consolation prize, and for the Malawians, competing at this level for the first time, would cap a promising debut.
Both the Boys’ and Girls’ tournaments are being played as part of the Region 5 Games Lilongwe 2022.
All matches will be streamed live on COSAFA.TV and FIFA+, and you can get a full rundown of the Girls’ fixtures right here, and the Boys’ matches here.
We will also be providing coverage across our multitude of social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – where we will provide news and behind-the-scenes features from Lilongwe.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
TOTALENERGIES U17 AFCON ALGERIA 2023 | COSAFA QUALIFIER
Semifinals
Zambia 4 (Samson Malaya 31′, Luketekelo Kapowa 45′, 86′, Marcel Zimba 70′) Botswana 2 (Bonniface Manapolo 51’pen, Losika Ratshukudu 58′)
Malawi 1 (Lucky Mkandawire 52’) South Africa 5 (Thato Sibiya 31’, Siyabonga Mabena 46’, 86’pen, 90’, Dhakier Lee 74’)
SATURDAY’S FIXTURES
COSAFA GIRLS’ UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP
Third-Place Play-Off
19h00 CAT (17h00 GMT): Malawi vs Botswana – Bingu National Stadium
TOTALENERGIES U17 AFCON ALGERIA 2023 | COSAFA QUALIFIER STATISTICS
Matches Played: 10
Goals scored: 42
Biggest victory: Seychelles 0 South Africa 11 (Group B, December 3)
Most goals in a game: 11 – Seychelles 0 South Africa 11 (Group B, December 3)
GOALSCORERS
9 goals – Siyabonga Mabena (South Africa)
5 – Emmanuel Mwanza (Zambia)
3 – Lutetekelo Kapowa (Zambia), Dhakier Lee (South Africa), Losika Ratshukudu (Botswana), Benjamin Wallis (South Africa), Marcel Zimba (Zambia)
1 – Vincent Harrison (Malawi), Lorenzo Hoareau (Seychelles), Blessings Kanowa (Malawi), Samson Malaya (Zambia), Bonniface Manopolo (Botswana), Xhosa Manyana (South Africa), Mwisho Mhango (Malawi), Lucky Mkandawire (Malawi), Bennet Mokoena (South Africa), Webster Mzunda (Malawi), Dorian Nanuseb (Namibia), Kelvin Phiri (Zambia), Thato Sibiya (South Africa)
Own Goal – Julius Banda (Malawi)
COSAFA GIRLS’ UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
Matches Played: 8
Goals scored: 59
Biggest victory: Namibia 0 South Africa 12 (Group A, December 3); Malawi 12 Namibia 0 (Group A, December 5)
Most goals in a game: 12 – Namibia 0 South Africa 12 (Group A, December 3); Malawi 12 Namibia 0 (Group A, December 5)
GOALSCORERS
7 goals – Rose Kadzere (Malawi)
5 – Nobahle Mdelwa (South Africa)
4 – Andrielle Mibe (South Africa)
3 – Faith Chinzimu (Malawi), Lotang Ebineng (Botswana), Harriet Matipa (Zambia), Lubasi Pumulo (Zambia), Jessy Zulu (Zambia), Zangose Zulu (Zambia)
2 – Bwalya Chileshe (Zambia), Leticia Chinyamula (Malawi), Katlo Ditsile (Botswana), Sinazo Ntshota (South Africa), Olwethu Sosibo (South Africa)
1 – Anna Baziliyo (Malawi), Tatiana Correia (South Africa), Lebogang Dilelo (Botswana), Julia Goncalves (South Africa), Mbapeua Hangara (Botswana), Suwiranji Lukondo (Zambia), Tricia Mabamba (Zambia), Mary Mbalangwe (Malawi), Chikondi Mgodi (Malawi), Khutso Mogano (South Africa), Palesa Mokopakgosi (Botswana), Gositang Motshegwe (South Africa), Esther Musialela (Zambia), Naledi Nkosi (South Africa), Ntando Phahla (South Africa)
