EN, FR, PR: Zambia, South Africa book final places in Boys’ U17 qualifier in Lilongwe

Zambia and South Africa have booked their places in the final of the TotalEnergies U17 AFCON Algeria 2023 | COSAFA Qualifier after each came through tough semifinal ties at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Friday.

In doing so both have also both earned a spot in the continental finals when the TotalEnergies U17 AFCON Algeria 2023 are played in April. For Zambia it will be a second appearance, and for South Africa a fourth.

Zambia sealed their place following a see-saw semifinal against Botswana where they eventually ran out 4-2 winners.
They led 2-0 at halftime thanks to headed goals from Samson Malaya and Luketekelo Kapowa, but Botswana never gave up and ended up level.

Bonniface Manapolo pulled a goal back from the penalty-spot before Losika Ratshukudu netted his third goal of the tournament to make the score 2-2.

It could have gone either way from there, but Zambia, who have been runners-up in the last two COSAFA Under-17 tournaments, sealed their final place as Marcel Zimba put them ahead and Kapowa got the insurance goal late on.

South Africa were made to work hard by Malawi but triumphed 5-1 in their semifinal.

They took the lead in the first half thanks to a screamer from Thato Sibiya as he blasted the ball into the net from 25 yards.

They doubled their lead a minute after the break when tournament top-scorer Siyabonga Mabena netted his seventh of the campaign as he ran onto a long ball to score.

The home side were given hope when Lucky Mkandawire scrambled in a goal to halve the deficit after South Africa failed to clear a corner, but the visitors restored their two-goal advantage when Dhakier Lee found himself one-on-one with the keeper and made no mistake.

Mabena put the cherry on top with a fourth on the night as he converted a penalty, and then completed his hattrick in injury-time to take his tournament tally to nine.

Sunday’s final will be staged at 17h30 CAT, while the bronze medal match between Botswana and Malawi will be at 11h30 CAT.    

Meanwhile, the third-place play-off in the COSAFA Girls’ Under-17 Championship will be played on Saturday when hosts Malawi take on Botswana at 19h00 CAT.

It is a chance for both teams to walk away with a consolation prize, and for the Malawians, competing at this level for the first time, would cap a promising debut.

Both the Boys’ and Girls’ tournaments are being played as part of the Region 5 Games Lilongwe 2022.

All matches will be streamed live on COSAFA.TV and FIFA+, and you can get a full rundown of the Girls’ fixtures right here, and the Boys’ matches here.

We will also be providing coverage across our multitude of social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – where we will provide news and behind-the-scenes features from Lilongwe.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
TOTALENERGIES U17 AFCON ALGERIA 2023 | COSAFA QUALIFIER
Semifinals
Zambia 4 (Samson Malaya 31′, Luketekelo Kapowa 45′, 86′, Marcel Zimba 70′) Botswana 2 (Bonniface Manapolo 51’pen, Losika Ratshukudu 58′)

Malawi 1 (Lucky Mkandawire 52’) South Africa 5 (Thato Sibiya 31’, Siyabonga Mabena 46’, 86’pen, 90’, Dhakier Lee 74’)

SATURDAY’S FIXTURES
COSAFA GIRLS’ UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP
Third-Place Play-Off
19h00 CAT (17h00 GMT): Malawi vs Botswana – Bingu National Stadium

TOTALENERGIES U17 AFCON ALGERIA 2023 | COSAFA QUALIFIER STATISTICS
Matches Played: 10
Goals scored: 42
Biggest victory: Seychelles 0 South Africa 11 (Group B, December 3)
Most goals in a game: 11 – Seychelles 0 South Africa 11 (Group B, December 3)

GOALSCORERS
9 goals – Siyabonga Mabena (South Africa)
5 – Emmanuel Mwanza (Zambia)
3 – Lutetekelo Kapowa (Zambia), Dhakier Lee (South Africa), Losika Ratshukudu (Botswana), Benjamin Wallis (South Africa), Marcel Zimba (Zambia)
1 – Vincent Harrison (Malawi), Lorenzo Hoareau (Seychelles), Blessings Kanowa (Malawi), Samson Malaya (Zambia), Bonniface Manopolo (Botswana), Xhosa Manyana (South Africa), Mwisho Mhango (Malawi), Lucky Mkandawire (Malawi), Bennet Mokoena (South Africa), Webster Mzunda (Malawi), Dorian Nanuseb (Namibia), Kelvin Phiri (Zambia), Thato Sibiya (South Africa)
Own Goal – Julius Banda (Malawi)

COSAFA GIRLS’ UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
Matches Played: 8
Goals scored: 59
Biggest victory: Namibia 0 South Africa 12 (Group A, December 3); Malawi 12 Namibia 0 (Group A, December 5)
Most goals in a game: 12 – Namibia 0 South Africa 12 (Group A, December 3); Malawi 12 Namibia 0 (Group A, December 5)

GOALSCORERS
7 goals – Rose Kadzere (Malawi)
5 – Nobahle Mdelwa (South Africa)
4 – Andrielle Mibe (South Africa)
3 – Faith Chinzimu (Malawi), Lotang Ebineng (Botswana), Harriet Matipa (Zambia), Lubasi Pumulo (Zambia), Jessy Zulu (Zambia), Zangose Zulu (Zambia)
2 – Bwalya Chileshe (Zambia), Leticia Chinyamula (Malawi), Katlo Ditsile (Botswana), Sinazo Ntshota (South Africa), Olwethu Sosibo (South Africa)
1 – Anna Baziliyo (Malawi), Tatiana Correia (South Africa), Lebogang Dilelo (Botswana), Julia Goncalves (South Africa), Mbapeua Hangara (Botswana), Suwiranji Lukondo (Zambia), Tricia Mabamba (Zambia), Mary Mbalangwe (Malawi), Chikondi Mgodi (Malawi), Khutso Mogano (South Africa), Palesa Mokopakgosi (Botswana), Gositang Motshegwe (South Africa), Esther Musialela (Zambia), Naledi Nkosi (South Africa), Ntando Phahla (South Africa)

La Zambie et l’Afrique du Sud en finale
La Zambie et l’Afrique du Sud s’affronteront en finale de la TotalEnergies U17 AFCON Algeria 2023 | COSAFA Qualifier dimanche. Les deux nations sont sorties vainqueurs de leur demi-finale respective. La Zambie a résisté au retour du Botswana (4-2) tandis que l’Afrique du Sud n’a pas vraiment tremblé face au pays hôte qu’il a battu 5-1. Ce samedi, l’on assistera à la petite finale du COSAFA Girls’ Under-17 Championship.

Dans un match très fermé, les Zambiens et les Botswanais se sont rendus coup pour coup. Mais il aura fallu attendre la demi-heure de jeu pour que Malaya place enfin les Juniors Chipolopolos sur de bons rails. A partir de cet instant, les Zambiens commençaient à prendre leurs aises et Kapowa en profitait pour donner plus d’ampleur au score.

Mais les choses allaient changer au retour des vestiaires. Le Botswana, conscient qu’il ne lui restait qu’une dernière étape à franchir avant la finale et que le ticket pour l’Algérie l’an prochain était à portée de main, puisait dans ses ressources. Les Botswanais signaient leur retour avec un but de Manapolo à la 51^e minute puis parvenaient à égaliser suite au but de Ratchukudu avant l’heure de jeu. Mais les Zambiens pouvaient profiter de leur artificiers pour tuer le match. D’abord par Zimba à la 70^e minute puis grâce au doublé de Kapowa (86^e).

Dans la deuxième demi-finale de vendredi, l’Afrique du Sud a tenu son rang contre le Malawi. Sibiya à ouvert le score à la 31^e minute avant que l’incontournable Mabena ne fasse le break au retour des vestiaires. Il plane sur le classement des buteurs avec neuf buts puisqu’en fin de rencontre, il a transformé un pénalty et a récidivé dans le temps additionnel. Lee a définitivement validé le billet à la 74^e minute. Mkandawire est parvenu à réduire le score (52^e) mais cela n’a pas été suffisant.

Une unique rencontre est au programme de ce samedi. Pourtant, elle vaut de l’or pour les deux adversaires qui chercheront à rentrer au pays avec un petit lot de consolation dans les valises. Vous l’aurez compris, on joue le match de la troisième place chez les filles et ce dernier oppose le Malawi au Botswana à 19h.

La pression sera sur les épaules du Malawi évidemment. A domicile, les filles devront se surpasser pour sauver les meubles. Contre une solide formation du Botswana, Rose Kabzere, l’attaquante du Malawi qui occupe la tête du classement des buteuses avec sept réalisations, sera la joueuse clé pour essayer de passer cette défense botswanaise.

Le Botswana, finaliste malheureux de la dernière édition, n’est pas parvenu à aller au bout une nouvelle fois. Malgré Lotang Ebineng et Katlo Ditsile qui ont respectivement inscrit trois et deux buts jusqu’ici, les Botswanaises se sont souvent fait surprendre derrière. Le match d’aujourd’hui pourrait leur permettre de se rattraper dans une certaine mesure.

A noter que toutes les rencontres sont à suivre en streaming sur COSAFA.TV et sur FIFA+. Retrouvez également les faits de matchs, les photos du jour, les vidéos insolites ainsi que les résultats sur toutes nos plateformes numériques, à savoir Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok et YouTube.

Zâmbia e África do Sul na final do COSAFA e garantem CAN-2023
As selecções nacionais de Futebol Sub-17 da Zâmbia e da África do Sul, disputam este domingo, no Bingu National Stadium, às 17.30 horas,  a final do Taça COSAFA  da categoria  e, por conta disso ambas equipas garantiram o apuramento para o TotalEnergies Campeonato Africano das Nações (CAN) que terá lugar na Argélia em 2023.  O torneio COSAFA  serviu para qualificar os dois representantes da zona, de acordo com o figurino introduzido pela Confederação Africana de Futebol (CAF) em 2018.

Entretanto, as formações do Botswana e do Malawi irão defrontar-se ainda no domingo pelo último lugar do pódio, quando forem 12.00 horas, no local acima referenciado.

A Zâmbia chegou a esta fase incólume no Grupo B como líder destacado, marcando 9 golos e com apenas um sofrido. O mesmo não se pode afirmar quanto a Botswana, que não teve uma passagem às meias-finais, depois da magra vitória sobre a Namíbia (1-0)  e o empate por 2-2 frente ao Malawi foi suficiente para seguir em frente como o segundo melhor classificado do Grupo A.

Já no duelo da primeira meia-final, a Zâmbia foi superior, após suplantar a sua congénere do Botswana por 4-2, mas foi por um triz que não houve uma reviravolta, depois de os zambianos ter estado a liderar. Um bis de Kapowa (45+2, 86’), Zimba (7´) e Malaya (31’) foram os obreiros do triunfo, sendo que a equipa vencida chegou aos golos por intermédio de Manopolo (51’) e Ratshukudu (58’).

Por conseguinte, os “Amajimbos”, alcunha da formação sul-africana, despacharam nas “meias”, o Malawi por 5-1, mercê dos golos de Sibiya (31´), Mabena (47´,86´ e 90´+3´) e  Lee (74´). O tento de honra do Malwi foi apontado por Mzunda a passagem do minuto 52.

De resto, os campeões em título, Zâmbia voltam a reencontrar a África do Sul, depois de na fase de grupos terem derrotado o mesmo adversário por 1-0. Será uma partida interessante, onde os dois conjuntos terão contas por ajustar.

Frisar que a África do Sul lidera a lista das nações com mais títulos (3), seguindo a Zâmbia e Angola com dois cada. Com apenas um troféu nas suas prateleiras, estão as selecções do Malawi (2001), Namíbia (2016) e Zimbabwe (2007).