* Tomorrow pits Zimbabwe against Comoros while guest nation, Kenya will face reigning champions Zambia
* Kenya replaced Malawi that were withdrawn due to the mourning period in honour of late Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s and eight others in the tragic plane crash on June 10
Maravi Express
The COSAFA Cup 2024 got underway today in Gqeberha in Port Elizabeth, South Africa that saw two draws — 1-1 between the hosts and Mozambique and a stalemate 0-0 between eSwatini and Botswana.
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Tomorrow pits Zimbabwe against Comoros while guest nation, Kenya — who replaced Malawi that were withdrawn due to the mourning period in honour of late Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s and eight others in the tragic plane crash on June 10 — will face reigning champions Zambia.
Meanwhile, MultiChoice is bringing the top southern African football showpiece closer home through live beaming on GOtv up to July 7 and the live broadcast details (times CAT) are:
Thursday June 27
* 15:00: Comoros v Zimbabwe – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 18:00: Zambia v Kenya – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Friday June 28
* 15:00: Lesotho v Seychelles – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 18:00: Angola v Namibia – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Saturday June 29
* 12:00: Mozambique v eSwatini – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: South Africa v Botswana – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Sunday June 30
* 12:00: Kenya v Comoros – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: Zambia v Zimbabwe – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Monday July 1
* 12:00: Angola v Seychelles – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: Namibia v Lesotho – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Tuesday July 2
* 12:00: Comoros v Zambia – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: South Africa v Eswatini – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Wednesday July 3
* 15:00: Lesotho v Angola – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Friday July 5
* 15:00: Semifinal 1 – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 18:00: Semifinal 2 – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Sunday July 7
* 12:00: Third Place Playoff – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: Final – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
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Group A profile
South Africa
Bafana Bafana are one of only two COSAFA member countries to have won the AFCON title, doing so on home soil at their first attempt in 1996 while Zambia joined them with their 2012 success.
South Africa were runners-up in Burkina Faso two years later and finished third at the 2000 edition in Ghana and Nigeria.
Bafana Bafana have also qualified for three FIFA World Cups, competing in France in 1998 and Japan/South Korea in 2002 before hosting the tournament in 2010.
They won the Afro-Asian Nations Cup, beating Asian champions Saudi Arabia over two legs in 1999, and also hold the distinction of being the only southern African country to provide a winner of an African club competition.
Orlando Pirates claimed the African Champions Cup in 1995, Kaizer Chiefs the African Cup Winners’ Cup in 2001 and Mamelodi Sundowns in the Champions League in 2016.
But despite all that success, South Africa reached the final of COSAFA Cup for the first time in 2002, winning the trophy with a 4-1 aggregate triumph over Malawi in the two-legged final.
After more barren years, they claimed the back-to-back tournaments, beating old foes Zambia on penalties in the final in 2007, and running out victorious in 2008, despite fielding an unofficial ‘President’s XI’ line-up that included players mostly from the second tier of the country’s football.
They repeated that squad mix in Zimbabwe in 2009 but ended up finishing fourth after losing to Mozambique in the third-place playoff.
They went one better with a third-place finish in Zambia in 2013 but were disappointingly ousted by Botswana in the quarterfinals on home soil in 2015 and then lost in the Plate semifinals to Malawi.
They regained the title in Namibia in 2016, beating Botswana 3-2 in a thrilling final in Windhoek with a squad made up largely of players that would compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
They had Plate Final wins in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022, but lifted the main Cup competition in 2021 by beating guest nation Senegal in the final.
Mozambique
The Mambas were semifinalists in the 2004 COSAFA Cup tournaments, and then went one better in 2008 and 2015 when they lost in the final.
In 2004, they beat both Madagascar and Malawi in earlier round encounters before losing at home to Angola in the last four, while in 2009 they lost to Zambia in the semifinals but beat South Africa to third in Zimbabwe.
Those were their best performances since the Mambas finished third in 1997 and when they were fifth-place finishers in 1998. Since the introduction of the knockout competition in 1999, they have reached the quarterfinals four times but had the misfortune of being drawn away to Zambia on each occasion and lost.
The side were ousted from the quarterfinals of the 2013 edition, but went on to win the Plate final, beating Angola 1-0 in the decider.
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They lost both their matches at the 2016 tournament, a defeat to guest DR Congo in the quarterfinals before losing to hosts Namibia in the Plate semifinals.
They were ousted in the group stages between 2017 and 2019, but finished fourth in 2021, a feat they repeated in 2022, before again going out in the first round in 2023.
Mozambique are one of several COSAFA members who have represented the region at the AFCON finals — in Egypt in 1986, South Africa in 1996, Burkina Faso in 1998 and in Angola 2010.
eSwatini
The Sihlangu have reached the semifinals of the COSAFA Cup on five occasions, proving their potential for upset results and in 2003, they reached the last four but then lost to eventual winners Zimbabwe.
In 2002, they were beaten in the semifinals by South Africa, who also went on to win the competition, and in 1999 they were also semifinalists but were narrowly defeat by Namibia on postmatch penalties after a 1-1 draw.
They also made the Last 4 in 2016, but were beaten 1-5 by South Africa, who went on to lift the trophy, while eSwatini beat DR Congo 1-0 to finish third.
The side were back in the semifinals in 2021 where they narrowly lost on penalties to west African guest nation Senegal, before going on to defeat Mozambique via spot-kicks in the bronze medal match.
They reached the quarterfinals in 2022 after topping their pool, but again drew with Senegal and were ousted in an epic penalty shoot-out that ended 10-9 in the favour of the west Africans.
Ironically before 1999, they had never won a game in the competition but are now always considered a threat in the COSAFA Cup — but in 2004 eSwatini reached a competition low when they lost their quarterfinal tie at home to Zimbabwe by a then competition record score line of 5-0 and the match was not completed after a crowd riot brought the game to a premature halt.
In 2016, they topped a pool that also included Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Seychelles, then defeated Zambia on penalties in the quarterfinals.
They did have a couple more quarterfinal appearances in 2017 and 2018, but they failed to make it past that stage and in 2019 and 2023 were ousted in the first round.
Midfielder Felix Badenhorst is the record goalscorer in the COSAFA Cup with nine goals, one more than the great Zimbabwean Peter Ndlovu and compatriot Sabelo Ndzinisa.
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Botswana
The Zebras have showed a marked improvement in international competition over the last few years, using COSAFA tournaments as the basis of their preparation and progress.
They made the COSAFA Cup final in 2019, running eventual champions Zambia close as they lost 0-1, but in many ways, it was a breakthrough for the country’s football and a sign of better days ahead.
It was a second final appearance in four years. It took almost a decade of competition before the Zebras the latter stages of the competition, but the side reached the semifinals of the COSAFA Cup in 2006 and repeated the feat the next year.
Their achievement in 2006 came after they beat South Africa on post-match penalties and the next year there was another upset triumph, this time over FIFA World Cup finalists Angola.
It was in 2003 that Botswana finally ended their search for the ‘Holy Grail’ when their seven-year run without a win in the COSAFA Cup was broken.—Reporting by SuperSport; editing by Maravi Express
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