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The South African U20 Men’s National team made it three wins out of three as they confirmed their spot in the semi-finals of the CAF U20 Men’s Africa Cup of Nations COSAFA Qualifiers currently underway in Mozambique.
Amajita continued where they left off as they defeated Eswatini 2-0 in the last group stage match of the competition. It was not a walk in the park as South Africa Head Coach Raymond Mdaka made several changes to his starting line-up to refreshen the squad, bringing on Milimo Nalumango, Sanele Simelane, Joshua Taylor, Kgomotso Madiba, Will Henson and Ukhonaye Magele in place of Matthew Palmer, Teboho Lekhatla, Emile Witbooi, Oarabile Booysen, Steven Mendes and Teboho Mlangeni.
Takalani Mazhamba, Egan Freese, Cayden Fortune, Lazola Maku and Manelis Mazibuko were the only survivors from the previous clash against Angola. It took 25 minutes for Amajita to get on the scoresheet, with Mazibuko giving the South Africans the lead courtesy of a stunning goal. Nalumango made it 2-0 eight minutes later.
Amajita could have scored more, including two via the penalty spot after the referee had awarded the kick, but video review requests changed the decisions. And that is how it ended as there were no further goals.
South Africa Team Picture during 2026 COSAFA U20 Youth Championship CAF Qualifier Match between South Africa and Eswatini at ABB Stadium in Maputo on 23 September 2026 ©Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
“We made changes because we had some minor injuries and we wanted the players to recover, but also this is a junior tournament and we sometimes test and give other a chance. We rested some players from the team that we normally play thinking it will be the same we always play, but it was not like that. I think we should have scored a number of goals if we were not relaxing on the opportunities that we got,” said Mdaka.
The win sees South Africa on nine points and top of Group B. They are yet to conceded after scoring seven goals in the process. Amajita have set up a much-anticipated clash in the semi-finals against Zambia, who claimed Group C. The match takes place on Friday.
“I hope it’s going to be a very good game. This is the decider for qualifying, and it needs full focus and commitment of the players,” added Mdaka.
Group A winners Namibia will face off against hosts Mozambique, who knocked out Angola on Fair Play points after both sides were level on points as well as goals scored and conceded.
Semi-final Fixtures:
Friday, 25 September 2026 – ABB 1
16h00:
Winner Group B (South Africa) vs Winner Group C (Zambia)
19h00:
Winner Group A (Namibia) vs Best Runner-up (Angola)
Sunday, 27 September 2026 – ABB 1
15h00:
Third-place play-off
18h30:
Final
SOURCED FROM SAFA WEBSITE.