By Cosafa.com
Riding on the back of their success of the 2019 Under-17 COSAFA Championship which Football Association of Malawi (FAM) hosted last October, Zambia beat Malawi 2-1 in their final Group A clash at Nkoloma Stadium on Monday to book their place in the semifinals of the 2019 COSAFA Under-20.
Zambia, who last claimed the title in 2016, finish top of the group with a full haul of nine points even though they were made to sweat by the Young Flames under the guidance of coach Peter Mponda.
Malawi finish second in the group but they cannot be among the best runners-up as they only have four points from their three matches of the 4-0 win against Comoros Islands in the first game and the 2-2 draw against Botswana in the second game.
Zambia took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from captain Golden Mafwenta and the prolific Francisco Mwepu, who netted his third of the competition.
But Malawi set up a thrilling finish when Francisco Madinga scored with 20 minutes remaining but they were unable to force an equaliser.
With that goal, Madinga now has two goals and is joined by Miguèl Afonso (Angola), Oswin Appollis (South Africa), Tseliso Botsane (Lesotho), Phaza Chose (Botswana), Romao Joao (Mozambique), Jimmy Mukeya (Zambia) and Majahesibili Ndlovu (Eswatini).
Mwaungulu scored three goals
Angola’s Ambrosini Salvador has four goals followed by three from Tangu Gastão (Angola), Patrick Mwaungulu (Malawi) and Francisco Mwepu (Zambia).
Mwaungulu scored all his three through a hat-trick after beating Comoros 4-0 on Day 1. Other scorers for Malawi are Chinsinsi Maonga and Lanjesi Nkhoma.
Zambia will now meet the Angola in the semifinals on Thursday.
Powerful Angola swept into the semifinals as they made it into the semis with three wins from three with another comprehensive display against their major pool rivals Eswatini.
Angola have now scored 13 goals in three games and conceded only once, a record suggests they are very much among the teams to beat in Lusaka.
The tournament’s top-scorer so far, Ambrosini Salvador, netted his fourth of the competition to open the scoring for the Young Palancas Negras, while a brace from Tangu Gastão sealed the points.
Eswatini must now wait to see if they have done enough to earn a semifinal place as the best-placed runner-up, with their six points having been more than enough in previous years.
Angola v Mozambique
They will do so if one of South Africa or Madagascar fail to win their final pool matches in Group B on Tuesday.
Mozambique ended their Group C campaign with a 3-2 victory over Seychelles in an exciting climax from both sides.
Neither had scored in this year’s tournament before the game, but goals from Romao Joao (two) and captain Benedito Manjate sent the Young Mambas on their way.
Seychelles made a game of it though and found the back of the net through Kelsun Brutus and a late strike by Brandon Fanchette.
South Africa in action
The final round of pool matches will be played in Group B on Tuesday when defending champions South Africa take on Lesotho at the Nkoloma Stadium (kick-off 15h30) needing a win to secure a place in the semifinals.
South Africa top the pool on goal-difference from Madagascar, and whatever happens in their fixture, the Malagasy will know that victory over Mauritius at the Sunset Stadium (15h30) will also seal them a berth in the next stage.
That would either be as runner-up or pool winners, depending on what happens in the other game.
There is a chance that all four sides could finish on four points if Lesotho and Mauritius pull off surprise victories, which would mean the positions would be decided by first goal-difference and then goals scored.—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira