The 2024 COSAFA U-20 Cup was the 29th edition of the COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup, an international youth football tournament open to national associations of the COSAFA region. It took place between 26 September and 5 October 2024 in Mozambique. This competition served as the COSAFA qualifiers for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
South Africa defeated defending champions Zambia 2-0 in the final. Both finalists qualified for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.[1][2] South Africa scored 16 goals in the five matches played, with zero goals conceded against them.
Participating teams
The following twelve teams contested the tournament.
| Team | Appearances | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|
 Angola |
29th | Runner-up (2000, 2001, 2002, 2011) |
 Botswana |
22nd | 3rd Place (2009, 2011) |
 Comoros |
5th | Group stage (2013, 2016, 2019, 2020) |
 Eswatini |
29th | Champion (2020) |
 Lesotho |
29th | Runner-up (1990, 2005, 2017) |
 Malawi |
20th | 4th Place (1986, 2000, 2006, 2011) |
 Mozambique |
29th | Champion (2020) |
 Namibia |
29th | Champion (2020) |
 South Africa |
29th | Champion (2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2018) |
 Zambia |
29th | Champion (1983, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2022) |
Venues
Match officials
Draw
The draw was held on 5 September 2024 at 11:00 CET (UTC+2) at Maputo.The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams, with hosts Mozambique seeded in Group A (position A1), the defending champions Zambia seeded in Group B (position B1) and South Africa seeded in Group C (position C1). The remaining 9 teams were allocated to two pots based on the results of the previous tournament edition and were drawn to the remaining positions.[3]
| Seeded | Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|---|
|
Group stage
The group stage were played in 3 groups as a round-robin, where the winners and the best runner-up advanced to the semi-finals. Because of Madagascar's withdrawal, points gained against the team finishing last in Groups A and C were not included in the calculation of the best runner-up.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zimbabwe
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Botswana
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | Eswatini
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Mozambique (H)
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 0 |
| Mozambique | 4–5 | Eswatini |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Eswatini | 0–3 | Zimbabwe |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Mozambique | 1–2 | Botswana |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Eswatini | 0–0 | Botswana |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Mozambique | 0–1 | Zimbabwe |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angola
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Zambia
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Namibia
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Madagascar
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
Madagascar was also drawn into this group but withdrew before playing.[4]
| Angola | 1–0 | Namibia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Comoros
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 3 | Malawi
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Lesotho
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 3 |
| South Africa | 5–0 | Malawi |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Malawi | 2–3 | Lesotho |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Ranking of second-placed teams
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Zambia
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | A | Botswana
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | C | Comoros
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
Knockout stage
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 3 October - Matola | ||||||
| Angola | 0 | |||||
| 5 October - Matola | ||||||
| South Africa | 1 | |||||
| South Africa | 2 | |||||
| 3 October - Matola | ||||||
| Zambia | 0 | |||||
| Zimbabwe | 2 (5) | |||||
| Zambia (p) | 2 (6) | |||||
Semi-finals
| Angola | 0–1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
|
Final
| South Africa | 2–0 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
Goalscorers
There were 55 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 3.06 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Amado Haidara
- Simão Pedro
- Filipe Quissequel
- Gaone Japane
- Losika Ratshukudu
- Philip Kaku
- Falahidine Ahamada
- Malaik Bacar
- Malwande Gwebu
- Njongo Mazibuko
- Phiwayinkhosi Dube
- Chewane Ntakha
- Fernando Jose
- Yuran Seia
- Mwisho Mhango
- Hermas Masinja
- Engilio Goagoseb
- Ofentse Kgosana
- Siyabonga Mabena
- Mbekezeli Mbokazi
- Sifiso Timba
- Tanaka Cherera
- Nisbet Muzenda
- Emmanuel Mwanza
1 own goal
- Leluma Mofoko (Against South Africa)
- Fostino Chanda (Against Angola)
See also
References
- ^ "Shandre Campbell shines as Afcon-bound South Africa are crowned Cosafa Under-20 champions | Goal.com South Africa". www.goal.com. 2024-10-05. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
- ^ "EN, FR, PR: South Africa claim ninth COSAFA Under-20 crown". 2024-10-05. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
- ^ "Draws concluded in Maputo for Under-20 and Under-17 competitions". Council of Southern Africa Football Associations. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Race for African place gets under way in COSAFA U20 Qualifier". Council of Southern Africa Football Associations. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
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