Zambia and Malawi Battle for 2019 COSAFA U20 Semifinal Spot

Zambia and Malawi meet today to decide who will automatically qualify for the semi final spot in Group A at the 2019 COSAFA U20 Cup at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.

Young Chipolopolo head into their final Group A match leading with a maximum 6 points following a 5-0 win over Botswana on December 4 and 2-0 victory over Comoros on December 7.

Malawi are second on 4 points and a victory against the tournament hosts will see them through while Zambia will have to wait a bit to know whether they will qualify as the best runners-up.

The three group winners advance into the last four together with a best overall second placed side at the tournament Zambia is hosting from December 4-14 in Lusaka.

“Tough game again, they (Malawi) equally have a chance of playing in the semifinals but we won’t take it lightly and we have a day (Sunday) to prepare,” Zambia Under-20 coach Oswald Mutapa said.

Mutapa will be banking on the form of striker Francisco Mwepu who has scored a goal a game and is now on two goals heading into the final Group A match. Meanwhile, Malawi coach Peter Mponda said he is expecting a very interesting battle for top spot against Zambia.

“It will be a cracker having watched Zambia the way they play. They have a very good team, strong on the ball, they like switch play, I don’t know if they will switch their tactics but I don’t think they will change,” Mponda said.

“But if we guard against those long balls, I think we can get the three points and qualify to the next round.”