NORTON-(MaraviPost)-South Africa were crowned champions of the 2026 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) COSAFA Qualifiers after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Angola in a final played at a fully packed Ngoni Mwos Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Saturday.
The victory saw Amajimbos claim a record-equalling fourth regional title, drawing level with Zambia as the most successful team in this age group within the COSAFA region.
Along with Angola and Mozambique, South Africa secured qualification to next year’s continental finals.
The final was a tense affair with South Africa making a dream start in the fifth minute when tournament standout Omphemetse Sekgoto calmly slotted home after a well-worked move.
This was the first goal Angola had conceded throughout the tournament, sending a shockwave through the Angolan side and sparking wild celebrations among the Zimbabwean fans who backed the young South Africans.
South Africa maintained control of possession, dictating play with precision passing and relentless pressing.
Angola, however grew into the game as the first half progressed and Jairo Muanga squandered their best chance just before halftime, leaving Amajimbos 1-0 up at the break.
The second half saw Angola fight back with renewed determination. Tournament top scorer Pedro Antonio, who came off the bench, immediately made his presence felt.
In the 67th minute, he found space inside the box and hammered home the equalizer, his eighth goal of the tournament, leveling the score at 1-1 and setting up a nail-biting finale.
Angola piled on the pressure but South Africa’s resilience shone through.
In the 79th minute, substitute Siyabonga Mbongo became the hero of the day, capitalizing on a defensive lapse to squeeze the ball past goalkeeper Gelson Dala, restoring South Africa’s lead and ultimately sealing the victory.
Earlier in the day, Mozambique claimed the third and final qualification spot for the continental tournament with a commanding 3-0 victory over 10-man Comoros in the bronze medal play-off.
Joaquim Mubai opened the scoring in the 38th minute before Marcos Lazaro took center stage with a brace in the 57th and 75th minutes to put the game beyond reach.
Comoros’ task became impossible after Naim Houdjati was shown a red card just past the hour mark.
Meanwhile Omphemetse Sekgoto was named Player of the Tournament for his outstanding performances while Pedro Antonio took home the Golden Boot after finishing as the top scorer with eight goals.
The Golden Glove was awarded to Angola’s Gelson Dala, who conceded only two goals throughout the competition both of which came in the final. Mozambique’s spirited play and discipline saw them win the Fair Play Award.
The COSAFA U-17 Qualifiers featured 22 matches and produced 79 goals with the most emphatic victories being Angola’s 7-0 demolition of Mauritius in the group stage and South Africa’s 7-0 thrashing of Comoros in the semifinals.
Like this:
Loading…
Discover more from The Maravi Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
