ZAMBIA and Malawi will complete the semifinal line-up at the 2021 Cosafa Women’s Championship after the Copper Queens won their final Group C clash against Uganda at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday.
Captain Grace Chanda scored the only goal in the contest that ensured Zambia claimed top spot in their pool, and at the same time confirmed Group A’s Malawi as the best-placed runner-up.
Malawi finished on six points with a +2 goal-difference, and edged Zimbabwe (six points, +1) and Uganda (four points, +3) to be the best of the runners-up across the three pools.
It means Zambia will take on Group B winners Tanzania in the first of the semifinals on Thursday (kick-off 12h00 CAT), with hosts and holders South Africa to clash with Malawi in the second game (15h30 CAT).
Tournament regulations meant organisers could have switched around the semifinal fixtures as South Africa and Malawi emerged from the same group, but the Organising Committee opted to keep them the as is.
Those two met in their tournament opener, with the South Africans claiming a narrow, hard-fought 2-1 victory.
It is also a repeat of last year’s semifinal when Banyana Banyana ran out 6-2 winners in a game that was 0-0 at halftime.
Zambia had to work hard to beat the Ugandans, who needed a victory to advance, but battled against the organised Copper Queens.
The contest was settled on 37 minutes when Chanda fired into the net, her second goal in as many games.
They are the second side to complete the pool stage with a 100 percent record after Tanzania, with both teams yet to concede a goal in the competition to date.
It sets up a thrilling semifinal contest.
The second match in the pool on Tuesday was a dead-rubber between Namibia and Eswatini, with both sides already eliminated before the game.
That match also finished 1-0 in favour of the Namibians, with Lovisa Mulunga grabbing the only goal on 34 minutes.
Both semifinal matches will be streamed live on www.cosafa.tv and also available on SuperSport, as well as SABC Sport Channel 124 on Openview.
You can also follow the action at www.cosafa.com, and our official Twitter and Facebook pages.
Thursday semifinals:
12h00 (10h00 GMT) – Tanzania vs Zambia
15h30 (13h30 GMT) – South Africa vs Malawi . – cosafa.com
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