Mozambique and Comoros have booked their places in the semifinals of the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup 2024 after the completion of the final matches in Groups A and B on Tuesday.
The Mambas head Group A following a 3-1 win over 10-man Botswana, edging out hosts South Africa on goal-difference to take top honours. Bafana Bafana cannot finish among the best second-placed sides so will leave the tournament.
Goals from Momed Ferreira, Dario Melo and Edmundo Candido sealed the win for Mozambique, after Tebogo Kopelang had put Botswana in front. But a red card for Olebogeng Ramotse just before halftime proved a blow to the Zebras.
South Africa beat Eswatini 1-0 to at least go home on a high, Thabang Sibanyoni getting the only goal of the game after three minutes.
His only other international strike was at the same competition, at the same venue and against the same opponents in 2021.
Comoros finished top of Group B after three teams finished on six points and had to be separated on head-to-head, with Kenya in second and hoping to take the best runner-up place, while Zimbabwe and Zambia are eliminated.
Comoros defeated Zambia 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ibroihim Youssouf to extend his record as the islanders’ all-time leading scorer in the Cosafa Cup with four goals.
It is the first time in their history that Zambia have lost three games in a row in the regional competition having come into this year’s event as the record seven-time holders and winners of the previous two editions.
Kenya defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 as Austine Odhiambo scored his second goal of the tournament and Benson Omalla got the other.
That left Comoros, Kenya and Zimbabwe all on six points, and with three points each in the head-to-head record between the trio. But in matches played between the sides, Comoros have a +1 goal-difference, Kenya +0 and Zimbabwe -1.
The action continues on Wednesday with two matches, one each at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and Isaac Wolfson Stadium.
Entrance will be Free with tickets for available at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium ticket office and the Usave Kwazakhele adjacent to Isaac Wolfson Stadium on a first come, first served basis.
It is also all to play for in this pool, which is currently headed by Angola and Namibia on four points each.
Angola take on Lesotho at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (kick-off 15h00 CAT), while Namibia face Seychelles at the same time at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium.
Wins for Lesotho and Seychelles would leave all four sides on four points and the need for the calculators to work out the top side.
If Angola and Namibia both win then it could come down to goal-difference or even goals scored. Angola have the slight edge in that score at the moment. – Cosafa.com
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