Eddie Chikamhi and Curtworth Masango
ZIMBABWE brightened their prospects of qualifying for next year’s TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations finals after going through to the last four of the COSAFA qualifying tournament with a deserved victory over hosts Mozambique yesterday.
Bikita Minerals teenage forward Enock Moyo scored the only goal of the match at the ABB Stadium in Matola soon after the restart to ensure the Young Warriors snatched the ticket to the semi-finals as Group A leaders.
Only the top team in each pool from the three groups, advances to the semi-finals along with the best-placed runners-up.
The Young Warriors, who have been absent from the regional tournament for three years, should now be rubbing their hands in anticipation as this also means they have come to within one win away from qualifying for next year’s CAF Under-20 AFCON.
There are two youth AFCON qualifying tickets at the stake with the teams that make the COSAFA final set to represent the region in the continental jamboree, which in turn will act as the African preliminary tournament for the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile, where the continent will be represented by four nations.
Young Warriors coach Simon Marange yesterday told Zimpapers Sports Hub it was not a secret they were eyeing AFCON Under-20 finals but were taking it one game at a time to avoid exerting pressure on his boys.
“The overall performance was very good,” he said.
“I think this game tested a lot of our character and personality and the boys were able to come to the party. They were able to dig deeper and find a winner against a well-improved and strong Mozambican side.
“The next step is the semi-finals now. From the start, our big goal was to try and push to get to the AFCON finals. So, at least we have given ourselves a chance to dream about it and to give it a go.”
The Young Warriors had the game under control in the first half denying their opponents a short-on-target. Mozambique Under-20 did not pose any problems to the goalkeeper Joseph Kaunda, who kept two clean sheets in the last two outings.
Although the Young Mambas came close in the sixth minute with Yuran Jose Yeira, his header was off target and did not cause enough problems for Kaunda.
The Young Warriors on their part, made some promising moves but could not convert their chances.
Tanaka Cherera saw his header go over the bar with the goalkeeper off his line after being set by Tanaka Munemo in the 13th minute.
He returned to haunt the Mozambicans with a thunderbolt that went just inches over the bar in the 25th minute as Zimbabwe pursued an opener.
Munemo failed to do justice to a move started by Denzel Mapuwa in the 30th minute before Taffy Musamba’s free-kick on the edge of the box was safely collected by Young Mambas goalkeeper moments later.
The Young Warriors only found the back of the net soon after the restart with Bikita Minerals midfielder Moyo getting it right in the 46th minute.
The goal was his second of the tournament and Moyo earned the Man of the Match award after inspiring the Young Warriors to a semi-final berth.
Moyo almost found his second of the game but his effort was denied by the goalkeeper for a corner in the 74th minute.
Nisbet Muzenda was denied by the woodwork after his curled shot went for goal on the hour mark.
But after yesterday’s performance, Zimbabwe will not need to worry about the permutations in the race for the best-placed runners-up ahead of today’s Group B and Group C closing fixtures.
The Young Warriors sealed their place in the semi-finals after taking their points tally to seven from three group games.
They joined Angola who were the first team to make it to the last four from Group B, which played fewer games since they had three teams in the pool.
But the script favoured Zimbabwe more yesterday after Group A rivals Botswana and Swaziland featured in a goal-less draw in a match that was played simultaneously on the neighbouring pitch.
Eswatini even blew a golden chance to put themselves into semi-final contention when they missed a penalty deep into the second half.
But then Botswana, who finished second with five points now face an anxious wait to see if they will take the best runner-up prize, which will be decided after the two other pools today. Eswatini (4) and hosts Mozambique (0) have been eliminated.
The calculation for second place in the pool means that the results against the bottom side in the two four-team groups are discarded, putting Botswana effectively on two points in that race.
That means that should there be a winner between Namibia and Zambia in the three-team Group B today, Botswana will be out.
If that game finishes in a draw they stay alive, and there are a set of circumstances in Group C where they can both advance or be ousted.
