Zimbabwe have booked their place in the semifinals of the TotalEnergies CAF under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | Cosafa Qualifier in Matola on Monday after a 1-0 victory over hosts Mozambique that sees them top Group A.
Botswana were held to a 0-0 draw by Eswatini and now face an anxious wait to see if they will take the best runner-up prize, which will be decided at the conclusion of the two other pools on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe have seven points at the top of the group, followed by Botswana (5 points), and eliminated Eswatini (4) and Mozambique (0).
The calculation for second place in the pool means that the results against the bottom side in the two four-team groups are discarded, putting Botswana effectively on two points in that race.
That means that should there be a winner between Namibia and Zambia in the three-team Group B on Tuesday, Botswana will be out. If that game finished in a draw they stay alive, and there are a set of circumstances in Group C where they can both advance and be ousted.
Eswatini blew a golden chance to put themselves into semifinal contention when they missed a penalty deep into the second half of their 0-0 draw with Botswana.
Malwande Gwebu was fouled outside the box, but the referee adjudged the contact had been inside and awarded the spot-kick. Alakhe Mdluli stepped up to take the penalty but saw his effort saved by Botswana goalkeeper Frank Seleke Low to his right. Eswatini also had a chance from the follow-up but the ball flashed wide.
Zimbabwe have joined Angola in the semifinals after beating already eliminated Mozambique 1-0.
It was a compact game with both teams struggling to penetrate each other in the attacking third and going into halftime with one shot on target in Zimbabwe’s favour.
But Enock Moyo opened the scoring for Zimbabwe just a minute into the second stanza to give his side the lead that they held on to.
Only the top team in each pool advances to the semifinals along with the best-placed runner-up, with the two finalists qualifying for the continental finals that are due to be played next year.
Those in turn will act as the African preliminary tournament for the 2025 Fifa under-20 World Cup in Chile, with the continent to have four representatives. – cosafa.com
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
