Namibia take control of Group A as Seychelles win thriller at COSAFA U20 Qualifier
Namibia took control of Group A at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier on Sunday as they edged hosts Mozambique 1-0 to maintain their perfect start to the competition.
Rashid Naobeb scored the only goal of the contest in the 18th minute as the Young Warriors followed up their opening victory over Mauritius to move onto six points from two matches.
Earlier, Seychelles claimed their first victory of the tournament with a thrilling 4-3 success over Mauritius as Lorenzo Hoareau scored a hat-trick and Naythan Barbe added their fourth goal.
Quentin Lalsing scored twice for Mauritius and Jean Ravina converted from the penalty spot, but the islanders suffered a second successive defeat.
The 12-team competition runs until September 27, with the three pool winners and the best runner-up advancing to the semi-finals. The two finalists will qualify for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2027.
Mauritius struck first in a remarkable opening game when Lalsing put them ahead in the 21st minute.
Their advantage lasted only six minutes before Seychelles were awarded a penalty and Hoareau converted from the spot to level the scores.
Mauritius restored their lead eight minutes into the second half as Ravina successfully converted a penalty to make it 2-1.
But Seychelles responded again and Hoareau was handed another opportunity from the spot seven minutes later, making no mistake to bring his side level for a second time.
Hoareau completed his hat-trick in the 71st minute as Seychelles moved ahead for the first time in the contest.
Barbe then added a fourth goal in the 82nd minute to give Seychelles some breathing room, but there was still time for late drama.
Lalsing struck his second four minutes into stoppage-time to reduce the deficit to 4-3, but Seychelles held on through the closing moments to secure all three points.
The victory moved Seychelles onto three points in Group A and kept them firmly in contention ahead of their final pool fixture against Namibia on Tuesday.
Mauritius remain without a point after two games and will conclude their campaign against hosts Mozambique.
Namibia then produced another disciplined display to defeat Mozambique 1-0 and take a firm grip on Group A.
Naobeb struck in the 18th minute to give the Young Warriors the lead, and they protected their advantage for the remainder of the contest to record a second successive clean sheet.
Namibia had opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Mauritius and now have six points from six, with two goals scored and none conceded.
Mozambique had begun with a 4-1 victory over Seychelles but could not find a way through the Namibia defence and remain on three points alongside Seychelles.
Attention switches to Groups B and C on Monday with four matches across the two ABB Stadium pitches in Matola.
Record 12-time champions Zambia will seek a second successive victory when they meet Comoros at ABB Stadium 2 at 11h00 CAT (09h00 GMT).
Zambia opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Malawi as Billy Daka scored both goals, while Comoros collected a point from their goalless draw against Botswana.
Botswana and Malawi meet at the same venue at 14h00 CAT (12h00 GMT), with the Young Zebras looking to build on their opening draw and Malawi seeking their first points of the tournament.
There is a major contest in Group B at ABB Stadium 1 as defending champions South Africa face Angola at 15h00 CAT (13h00 GMT).
Both sides made impressive starts on Saturday, with South Africa defeating Lesotho 3-0 and Angola recording a 4-0 victory over Eswatini.
Angola lead the pool on goal difference, meaning Monday’s meeting could have a major bearing on who eventually tops Group B.
Eswatini and Lesotho complete the programme at 18h00 CAT (16h00 GMT), with both sides looking to bounce back from opening defeats.
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Group A
Mauritius 3 (Lalsing 21’, 90+4’, Ravina 53’pen) Seychelles 4 (Hoareau 27’pen, 60’pen, 71’, Barbe 82’)
Mozambique 0 Namibia 1 (Naobeb 18’)
MONDAY’S FIXTURES
Group C – ABB Stadium 2
Zambia vs Comoros (KO 11h00; 09h00 GMT)
Botswana vs Malawi (KO 14h00; 12h00 GMT)
Group B – ABB Stadium 1
South Africa vs Angola (KO 15h00; 13h00 GMT)
Eswatini vs Lesotho (KO 18h00; 16h00 GMT)
GROUP STANDINGS
|
GROUP A |
P |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
PTS |
|
Namibia |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
|
Mozambique |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
Seychelles |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
-2 |
3 |
|
Mauritius |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
-2 |
0 |
|
GROUP B |
P |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
PTS |
|
Angola |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
|
South Africa |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Lesotho |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
-3 |
0 |
|
Eswatini |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
-4 |
0 |
|
GROUP C |
P |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
PTS |
|
Zambia |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
|
Botswana |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Comoros |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Malawi |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
-2 |
0 |
TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 8
Goals scored: 23
Goals-per-game: 2.88
Biggest victory: Angola 4 Eswatini 0 (Group B, September 19)
Most goals in a game: 7 – Mauritius 3 Seychelles 4 (Group A, September 20)
GOALSCORERS
3 goals – Lorenzo Hoareau (Seychelles)
2 – Alírio Cuna (Mozambique), Billy Daka (Zambia), Steven Mendes (South Africa), Quentin Lalsing (Mauritius)
1 – Faizal Abdala (Mozambique), Naythan Barbe (Seychelles), António Kulica (Angola), Fanuel Macuácua (Mozambique), Tebogo Mlangeni (South Africa), Jairo Muanha (Angola), Domingos Muxito (Angola), Rashid Naobeb (Namibia), Luís Panda (Angola), Eriano Rajabary (Seychelles), Jean Ravina (Mauritius), Lukas Sakeus (Namibia)