Namibia go down to Zambia

ZAMBIA took a step towards the semifinals of the 2021 Cosafa Women’s Championships with a 3-0 Group C victory over Namibia at the Madibaz Stadium in Nelson Mandela Bay on Sunday.


The result sets up a winner-takes-all showdown with Uganda on Tuesday for top spot in the pool after the latter defeated Eswatini 5-1 in their clash earlier in the day.

Zambia will only need a draw in that game to advance to the semifinals and having not conceded a goal yet in the competition, might be confident of grabbing the point they need. Their win on Sunday came courtesy of goals from Margaret Belemu, captain Grace Chanda and Mary Wilombe.

Belemu, who also won Player of the Match, netted a screamer just before halftime to put the Copper Queens in front, with Chanda adding another midway through the second half and Wilombe the third late on.

Uganda kept up their semifinal hopes with a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Eswatini, who have seen their chances end following successive defeats.

Uganda, who had been held to a 0-0 draw by Namibia in their opener, led 2-0 at halftime thanks to goals from Joan Nabirye and Riticia Nabbosa, who was named Player of the Match.

Eswatini found a way back into the game when Celiwe Nkambule pulled a goal back on 56 minutes, but three more strikes from Sandra Nabweteme and Hasifah Nassuna (two) made it a comprehensive victory in the end for the East Africans.

Zambia lead the pool with six points, followed by Uganda (four), Namibia (one) and Eswatini (zero).

There will be four games on ‘Manic Monday’ as Groups A and B conclude, starting with the latter.
Both the final matches in Group B will kick-off simultaneously at 12h00 CAT with the clash between Botswana and Zimbabwe at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, and Tanzania versus South Sudan at Madibaz Stadium.

Tanzania have already secured top spot in the pool, but Botswana and Zimbabwe know that a win for either would give them an excellent chance of taking the best runner-up spot across all pools.

Certainly a draw will likely not be enough so they will have to go for a win, which should make for an entertaining contest.

South Sudan will look to continue to show their improvement in the competition, but come up against the best team in the pool.

Later on, Group A will conclude with both games under way at 15h30 CAT. South Africa take on Mozambique at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium knowing that a win will see them top the pool. 
But any slip-ups and either Malawi or Angola could go ahead of them with a win at the Madibaz Stadium.

They should be two tight games in what is a closely-contested pool with just three points separating leaders South Africa and Mozambique in fourth.

All matches will be streamed live on www.cosafa.tv and the fixtures at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium also available on SuperSport, with selected games to be shown on SABC.

You can also follow the action at www.cosafa.com, and our official Twitter and Facebook pages. – cosafa.com

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