By Levy Masiteng
Defending champions South Africa have reached the 2026 COSAFA CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers final and secured qualification for the 2027 CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.
Amajita came from behind to beat Zambia 4-2 in a thrilling semi-final in Maputo, Mozambique, on Friday, keeping their hopes of defending their regional title alive.
The two finalists at the COSAFA U20 qualifier earn places at next year’s continental tournament in Ghana.
South Africa were forced to respond after Zambia opened the scoring through Duncan Musialela in the first half, but the defending champions produced a strong second-half comeback.
Steven Mendes levelled from the penalty spot shortly after the hour mark before Oarabile Booysen put Amajita ahead two minutes later.
Zambia then found an equaliser, but Mendes restored South Africa’s advantage from the penalty spot in the 85th minute to complete his brace.
Emile Witbooi put the result beyond doubt with South Africa’s fourth goal in the 95th minute.
Mendes’ two-goal performance took his tournament tally to five goals, placing him among the competition’s leading scorers.
The victory extends Amajita’s impressive run in the tournament after they went through the group stage with three wins from three matches, beating Lesotho 3-0, Angola 2-0 and Eswatini 2-0 without conceding a goal.
Zambia had also entered the semi-final with a perfect group-stage record, having won all three of their matches.
South Africa’s semi-final was the first of two last-four clashes scheduled for Friday.
The other semi-final was between Namibia and hosts Mozambique, with the winners set to join Amajita in Sunday’s final.
South Africa will contest the COSAFA U20 final on Sunday, against the winner of Namibia and Mozambique.
