Malawi and South Africa eyeing face save in COSAFA Cup third-place play-off at 15:00hrs CAT

The semifinal match that the Flames lost to Lesotho through post match penalties

* Having already recorded their best-ever COSAFA Cup finish, the Flames will now be looking to end the competition on a positive note

* While a third-place is not what they hoped to achieve on home turf, South Africa will be looking to put on a show for their supporters nonetheless

By Adepoju Marvelous, SportsMole

Despite playing the majority of the game with a man advantage, Malawi failed to see off the threat of Lesotho in Friday’s last-four encounter.

Patrick Mabedi’s men trailed Jane Thaba Ntso’s opener but soon drew level Chawanangwa Kaonga’s equaliser, which took the game to penalties, where the Flames failed to convert any of their opening three spot-kicks.

That was a first defeat in six matches across all competitions for Malawi since they were emphatically beaten 0-4 by Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

Coming up next, at 15:00hrs central African time (CAT), is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have come out on top in just one of the previous 10 editions of this fixture across all competitions.

Having already recorded their best-ever COSAFA Cup finish, the Flames will now be looking to end the competition on a positive note.

From a seemingly strong position, South Africa were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat against Zambia at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Friday evening.

Morena Ramoreboli’s men took the lead through Tshegofatso Mabasa before goals from Golden Mashata and Albert Kangwanda turned the game on its head.

That loss brought an end to the Bafana Bafana’s 10-game unbeaten run, which kicked off in September 2022 with a 4-0 demolition of Sierra Leone.

While a third-place is not what they hoped to achieve on home turf at the beginning of the competition, South Africa will be looking to put on a show for their supporters nonetheless.

Chawanangwa Kaonga has netted in his last two appearances for Malawi, and the 28-year-old will be looking to come up with the goods once again.

Kaonga is expected to be joined in attack Christopher Kumwembe, who will be looking to add to his one COSAFA Cup goal so far, which came against Seychelles in the group stages.

South Africa’s Tshegofatso Mabasa currently sits at the top of the scoring charts with three strikes, making him one to keep an eye on here.

Meanwhile, Zambia will chase a record 7th COSAFA Cup title when they face Lesotho in the final, set for the King Zwelithini Stadium from 18:00hrs CAT.

Chipolopolo, the defending champions of the regional competition, are currently locked on six titles with arch rivals Zimbabwe and earned their chance to move clear of the Warriors on the all-time list — thanks to a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph over host nation South Africa in the semifinals on Friday.

“We are playing Lesotho, a good side,” said Zambia coach Moses Sichone. “A team which has been together for so many years. But I still believe in our guys. We will have a day [on Saturday], we will just switch down a bit with the training, with the fight the guys put in [against South Africa].”

Lesotho, who have never won the COSAFA Cup, will be making just their second appearance in the final of the regional competition, and a first since the year 2000.

“One was expecting a win, we came here to win the game. Yes, we had the respect [for] Malawi, but we knew we [had] what it takes to leave victorious,” said Lesotho coach, Leslie Notsi.

“The last time we were in the [Cosafa Cup] final was in the year 2000. So here we are after 23 years, which I believe the supporters, the Basotho people, are very happy with what the team achieved.

“We are halfway for us to give the King [Letsie III] a birthday present. On Monday our King will be celebrating his 60th birthday, so I think he deserves to have a cup from his boys.”

In head-to-head stats, Lesotho and Zambia have met in 13 matches since 1972. Chipolopolo have claimed nine wins compared to two for Likuena, with two games drawn.

The teams last met in back-to-back AFCON qualifiers in March this year, with Zambia winning 3-1 at home in Ndola and 2-0 ‘away’ in Soweto, South Africa (due to a lack of CAF-approved venues in Lesotho).—Additional reporting by SuperSport