* Kenya beat Zambia 2-0 while the Warriors of Zimbabwe defeated Comoros 1-0
* Zambia are meeting Zimbabwe this in what is dubbed ‘Battle of the Zambezi’
Maravi Express
Out of eight matches played since kick off on Wednesday, June 26 in Gqeberha in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, only Zimbabwe and guest nation Kenya have won their games that saw the Warriors beating Comoros 1-0 while the Harambee Stars defeated defending champions Zambia.
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The guest nation are this afternoon meeting Comoros with a chance to claim back-to-back successes with Zambia dating Zimbabwe in what is dubbed ‘Battle of the Zambezi’.
Another defeat will see Chipolopolo out of contention for top spot in the pool, with only the leading team in each group earning a place in the semifinals along with the best placed runner-up across the three pools.
Zambia and Zimbabwe have a long and rich history of clashes against one another, including in the COSAFA Cup.
They have met nine times before in the competition, with Zimbabwe leading the head-to-head 4-2 and three matches drawn.
That includes five meetings in the final, four of which were won by Zimbabwe, with Zambia’s single success on home soil in 2013. It has the potential to be a COSAFA Cup classic given what is at stake for both teams.
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Goals are also not aplenty as only seven have been scored with the biggest victory being Zambia 0-2 Kenya.
There is none who has scored more than one goal and the scorers are Chamito Alfandega (Mozambique), Rushwin Dortley (South Africa), Lorenzo Hoareau (Seychelles), Jane Thabantso (Lesotho), Austine Odhiambo (Kenya), Patrick Otieno (Kenya) and Michael Tapera (Zimbabwe).
There were a pair of goalless draws in two Group A matches played at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium yesterday, but no shortage of entertainment for the sizeable crowd that came out to watch in the sunshine.
Mozambique and eSwatini finished 0-0 in the first game of the day, a fixture in which the Mambas edged the play with 11 goal attempts to six, but could not find the back of the net.
Hosts South Africa and old foes Botswana also could not find a goal between them as they played to an entertaining 0-0 draw in the second match, leaving the pool on a knife-edge going into the final round of games on Tuesday.
All four sides have two points but South Africa top the table by virtue of the Fair Play record with one fewer yellow card than Mozambique.
The group will conclude when South Africa take on Eswatini and Mozambique play Botswana.
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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:
Today, 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.—Reporting by COSAFA website, editing by Maravi Express
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