2018 Cosafa Under-17 Championships – Day 5 wrap

The Angolans ensured they would finish top of the pool with a 4-0 success over the Swazis as Zito Luvumbo grabbing a brace of goals.

The side also hit the back of the net through Domingos Andrade and Jose Cabingano as they moved into pole position in the pool with a full haul of six points from their opening two games.

Angola cannot be overhauled at the top as the only sides who could finish level with them on points are one of Malawi or Swaziland, who meet in their final group match, but as Angola have already beaten both, they would be top on head-to-head standings.

Earlier, Malawi sent Zimbabwe packing from the tournament with a 5-0 victory that underlined their quality. Zimbabwe, so dominant in Cosafa football in the past, continued their battles at Under-17 level as their two losses in 2018 means they cannot qualify for the semifinals.

Patrick Mwaungulu scored twice and there were also goals for Tatenda Mbalaka, Francis Mtoso and Emmanuel Mitole as Malawi romped to victory.

The Malawians, who finished third in their last two visits to the tournament, could yet finish as the best runner-up and book a semifinal place with a big win over Swaziland, who are also not yet out of contention.

Groups A and B will come to a conclusion on Tuesday when the final round of matches are played concurrently.

Group A leaders Botswana will need just a draw against Namibia at the Stade Anjalay (12h00 local; 08h00 GMT) to book their place in the semifinals, but they could also qualify as the best second-placed team even with a defeat.

As the final standings are decided on the head-to-head basis, a win for Namibia would see them leap-frog Botswana into first place.

But if Mauritius beat Seychelles at the Stade St Francois Xavier in a fixture that kicks-off at the same time, that result, coupled with a Namibia win, would see all three sides finish on six points.

That would create a mini-league involving only matches played between those three sides to decide the winner.

Seychelles have already been ousted from the competition but will be playing for pride.

Group B comes to a head when South Africa and Zambia clash at the Stade St Francois Xavier (15h00 local, 11h00 GMT).

A draw will be enough to see South Africa finish above the defending champions and take top spot in the pool, at the same time likely ousting Zambia from the competition unless their five points would be good enough for the best runner-up spot.

At the same time Lesotho and Mozambique clash, but will be playing for pride.

Monday’s results:

Group C
Malawi 5 (Patrick Mwaungulu 2, Tatenda Mbalaka, Francis Mtoso, Emmanuel Mitole) Zimbabwe 0
Angola 4 (Zito Luvumbo 2, Domingos Andrade, Jose Cabingano) Swaziland 0

Tuesday’s results:

Namibia 2 (Tjiueza, Tsuseb) Botswana 0
Seychelles 1 (Suzette) Mauritius 6 (Gentil, Aristide x2, Philibert, Genave, Own Goal)

Tuesday’s fixtures:

Lesotho vs Mozambique (KO 3pm local, 11am GMT) – Stade Anjalay
South Africa vs Zambia (KO 3pm local, 11am GMT) – Stade St Francois Xavier