After hosts Eswatini and Group A got underway to kick off the COSAFA Men’s U-20 Championship on Friday the rest of the field proceeded with their first fixtures in Group B and Group C on Saturday. The Lusophone favorites in Group B both earned three points as Angola and Mozambique rolled to comfortable victories over Lesotho and Seychelles while South Africa were upstaged by Malawi in Group C. Amajita were shutout 2-0 by the Malawian side while Comoros surprised Namibia by finding a late winner to join Malawi at the top of the group.
Malawi’s defense turned in an excellent performance to earn what could be a crucial victory in Lobamba. South Africa controlled possession and appeared to have the upper half but the Malawians capitalized on a corner kick opportunity to take the lead in the first half courtesy of striker Vincent Mkandawire. The frustration of the South African team was confirmed in the second half when Malawi’s Chifundo Mphasi finished off a quick counter attack in the 67th minute to double his team’s lead, a lead Malawi would not relinquish. 2020 edition runners-up Namibia were stunned 1-0 by Comoros in Group C’s later match, proving that there will be no easy victories in the group.
Angola and defending champions Mozambique had no issues starting off Group B play with victories. The Palanquinhas of Angola scored four goals in the first half including two strikes for Diógenes Inacio before António Lopes finished off a dominant performance with the fifth goal in the 80th minute. Mozambique did most of their damage against Seychelles in the second half, expanding on a 1-0 halftime lead with four goals after the break before Seychelles struck a consolation goal in stoppage time.
Highlights are below from the Malawi-South Africa match as well as Comoros’ surprise defeat of Namibia.
Scores
Angola 5-0 Lesotho
Malawi 2-0 South Africa
Mozambique 5-1 Seychelles
Namibia 0-1 Comoros
Highlights
Malawi 2-0 South Africa
Namibia 0-1 Comoros
