The under-20 national team of Zambia proved why they are the standard bearers in the COSAFA region on Sunday in Eswatini, coming out on top by a score of 1-0 against Mozambique in the final of the COSAFA U-20 Championship. Kingstone Mutandwa’s second goal of the competition was all the junior Chipolopolo needed to clinch their record twelfth title and will be eager to impress along with Sunday’s opponents at the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations starting in February. In the third place match played earlier on Sunday, South Africa played out a 1-1 draw against Angola before winning 4-2 in a penalty kick shootout.
Zambia emerged determine to take the trophy and put the pressure on the Mozambican defense almost immediately with Joseph Banda’s long range effort stinging the gloves of keeper João Fasistencio in the fifth minute. Rickson Ng’ambi had an excellent look as well for the Zambian side when he received a cross in the penalty area but fired just wide two minutes later.
After a sustained spell of dominance Zambia finally got their reward in the 35th minute. A hopeful early cross from the right wing bounced through and Mutandwa seized his opportunity to collect the ball with an excellent first touch before firing past Fasistencio to put his team in the lead. The junior Chipolopolo faced little resistance for the remainder of the match until late on when Mozambique nearly leveled in the 88th minute, but after a free kick service saw two shot attempts blocked the ensuing corner kick was headed over and Zambia were able to hold on.
Highlights are below from both the championship match and the third place match.
Scores
Championship Match
Zambia 1-0 Mozambique
Third Place Match
South Africa 1-1 Angola
(South Africa wins 4-2 in penalty kicks)
Highlights
Zambia 1-0 Mozambique
South Africa 1-1 Angola (South Africa wins penalty kicks shootout)
