Southern Africa: Young Mambas Target Another Cosafa Crown

What the report says

Mozambique’s under-20 men’s team, the Young Mambas, are preparing another bid for the COSAFA Under-20 crown, according to AllAfrica’s report distributed from the Council of Southern African Football Associations in Johannesburg. The piece looks back at Mozambique’s run of results in the regional tournament and frames the team as aiming to return to the top after a mixed recent record.

AllAfrica reported that Mozambique won their first COSAFA Under-20 title in 2020 in Nelson Mandela Bay, after earlier finishing runners-up in 2008. They reached the final again in 2022, but then fell out in the group stage when the tournament was staged at home in Matola two years later. The article describes that sequence as a gold, silver and early exit across their last three appearances.

The report also revisits their 2020 title path, which included wins over Lesotho and Zimbabwe, a draw with South Africa, a semifinal penalty shootout victory over Zambia and a 1-0 final win against Namibia. That success mattered beyond the trophy: COSAFA noted that the side is now chasing another title and a place in the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, which is also a route toward FIFA U-20 World Cup qualification.

Mozambique are placed in a group with Mauritius, Namibia and Seychelles, and the article says only the group winner moves directly to the semifinals, with one best runner-up also advancing.