Malawi hammer Young Warriors

Malawi sent Zimbabwe packing from Cosafa Under-17 Youth championship following a 5-0 Group C victory that underlined their quality at the Francois Xavier Stadium in Port Louis, Mauritius yesterday.

Zimbabwe, so dominant in Cosafa football in the past, continued their battles at Under-17 level as their two losses means they cannot qualify for the semi-finals.

In their first match, Tafadzwa Mashiri’s charges had narrowly lost 3-2 to Swaziland on Friday.

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 semi-final place with a big win over Swaziland, who are also not yet out of contention.

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

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.

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

Group A leaders Botswana will need just a draw against Namibia at the Stade Anjalay 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.

— Cosafa.com