Defending champions Zambia will face Malawi in the final of the Cosafa under-17 Girls’ Championship on Saturday after both won contrasting semi-final clashes at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek, Namibia.
Zambia stormed to a 5-1 win over old foes Zimbabwe, while Malawi needed a late goal to see off Mozambique in a tense semi-final.
The deciding match will be played at the same venue at 14h00 CAT (12h00 GMT), with the third-place play-off between Zimbabwe and Mozambique to kick-off at 11h00 CAT (09h00 GMT). Both matches will be streamed live on FIFA+.
Zambia were always in control of their semi-final, though it did take until the 36th minute for them to take the lead through Natasha Kasema.
She added a second late on, while there were also goals for Hellen Banda, Beatrice Njobvu and Grace Phiri.
Zimbabwe’s consolation came from Dee Mapuwa, who netted her fifth of the tournament to move into second place in the Golden Boot race behind Lesotho’s Nancy Lebang, who has seven.
The second semi-final was a much tighter affair and was goalless until the 84th minute when Talandira Kachala’s free-kick into the box from all of 40 yards beat everybody and ended up in the back of the net.
Malawi were deserved winners having dominated large parts of the game and provided more attacking threat in the final third.
Zambia will be aiming for their third Cosafa under-17 Girls’ Championship title and second in a row having claimed the 2024 tournament in South Africa in December.
Malawi will be appearing in their first final after finishing in third on home soil in 2022. On that occasion they lost on penalties to Zambia in the semifinals following a 2-2 draw, so Saturday’s clash provides the opportunity for some revenge.
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