24 September 2024 – The South African U20 Men’s National Team are just one match away from qualifying for the CAF U20 Men’s Africa Cup of Nations 2027, but have Zambia standing in their way.
The two nations go into battle on Friday in the semi-finals of the 2026 COSAFA Cup with a place at the continental finals up for grabs. Kickoff is at 12h00 at the ABB Stadium in Matola, Mozambique.
South Africa are the defending champions of the regional championship, and the match up against Zambia is a repeat of the 2024 final won 2-0 by Amajita.
“This is a very big one. We are playing against a country that always wants to play against us for a number of reasons. But other than that, this is way the fixture is and we agreed that we’re going to play with whoever the fixture pits against. We have played the group stages, the boys did very well and credit to them. They understood the way we wanted them to play and how we wanted them to approach each and every game,” said Amajita Head Coach Raymond Mdaka.
Both teams come into this encounter with a 100 percent record in the group stages, each finishing on nine points after three wins. South Africa flew past Lesotho (3-0), Angola (2-0) and Eswatini (2-0) while Zambia brushed aside Malawi (2-0), Comoros (3-0) and Botswana (3-1). Now they are meeting in what has been dubbed the ‘Final Before the Final’.
“I would not differ with what people are saying, but we have played a number of games that were finals before the final. In the previous edition we played against Angola in the semi-finals, and it was the final before the final. In the AFCON we played against Zambia and it was a final before the final as well,” said Mdaka.
“For us, what is key is to address one game at a go. We will address tomorrow’s game positively and objectively in the type of way we prepare. As much as we know that they are strong, it should not be something that is on our minds. We should be ready in terms of how our boys play and we believe that if we get it right in the way we play, we can be able to manage the game.”
In the other semi-final clash, Namibia, who finished top of Group A, will take on Mozambique who claimed the second-best runners up spot.
South African Football: Clubs frequently engage in charity matches to support local causes.
Sly Silvermoon
Fun South African Fact: SA has three capital cities: Pretoria is the Executive Capital, Cape Town the Legislative Capital and Bloemfontein the judicial Capital.
Apple Nola
The roundarm action used for throwing the ball was used prior to the overarm throw used today. Prior to its conception, the underarm throw was used. The roundarm throw was conceived by English cricketer Tom Walker during the 1790s. Some insiders credit a woman, Christiana Willes to have devised the roundarm style. Wearing the bulky dresses of her time, Willes found the underarm throw difficult and inaccurate and decided to change it.