Zambia and Angola boys’ teams have qualified for the final of COSAFA Qualifiers of the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) whereas the young Copper Queens date Lesotho in the girls’ final.
Zambia boys team defeated hosts South Africa 2-1 on Wednesday at the University of Johannesburg AW Muller Stadium to date in Friday’s final Angola who shrugged off Zimbabwe 2-0.
South Africa gave their fans false hopes when Siphiwe Mlondo put them ahead early in the game. However, the Zambians responded through Abel Nyirongo in the 21st minute from the penalty spot after a VAR check. The Zambians sealed the win when Robert Banda finished from a loose ball in the 68th minute.
The other semifinal saw Angola's Eliseu Francisco open the scoring two minutes before the break as their dominance finally paid off. Omar cushioned the lead after adding the second goal to win it for Angola.
Zambia and Angola have since booked their place at the Under-17 AFCON finals scheduled for next year in Ivory Coast.
Not wishing to be outshone, the Zambia girls team punished Madagascar 3-0 in the semifinal thanks to well-worked goals from Hellen Banda and Grace Phiri in the 10th and 12th minutes.
The closest the islanders came to threatening was when Volana Andrianarison found herself one-one-one with the goalkeeper for Zambia but failed to convert. Mercy Chipasula finally put the game beyond Madagascar's reach when she scored the third goal for Carol Kanyemba’s team.
In the other semifinal, Nteboheleng Sooane scored a last-gasp goal for Lesotho girls to break the resistance of Mozambique for a 1-0 victory.
The girls are using the regional qualifiers to prepare for the AFCON finals for their age-group scheduled for Morocco next year.
Friday’s final will be streamed live on FIFA+, and you can follow the action from this dedicated tournament page.
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