Zambia : Zambia Chase 13th COSAFA U-20 Crown

‎Zambia will be hoping to extend their record number of COSAFA titles at Under-20 level to
‎13 when they compete in the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA
‎Qualifier in Mozambique from September 18-27.

‎They have been remarkably consistent at this level. In the 11 tournaments they have played
‎since 2010, they have won five titles, finished runners-up once and third once, with two
‎fourth-place finishes and two exits in the pool stages.

‎This time around they have been drawn in a pool with old foes Malawi, Comoros and
‎Botswana. Only the top team in each group advances to the semi-finals, along with the best
‎runner-up across the three pools.

‎The two finalists in the competition will qualify for the continental finals next year.
‎Zambia finished third in 2025 after losing to Malawi in the semi-finals, having reached that
‎stage as the best runner-up from the pool phase. They edged Angola on penalties in the
‎bronze-medal match.

‎It was a similar story the year before as they qualified for the semi-finals as the best runner-
‎up, having lost to Angola in the pool stages, and then beat Zimbabwe on penalties following
‎a 2-2 draw in the last four.

‎But they came unstuck against South Africa in the decider, losing 2-0 to the side who would
‎go on to be crowned African champions. Their road to the title in 2022 included group-
‎stage wins over Mauritius (3-0), Eswatini (2-0) and Botswana (1-0), before they edged
‎Angola on penalties in the semi-finals and beat then-holders Mozambique 1-0 in the
‎decider.

‎Prior to 2022, their previous victory came in 2019. It was a commanding performance from
‎the side as they claimed a full haul of nine points in the pool stages before seeing off Angola
‎3-0 in the semi-finals.

‎That was followed by victory against old foes South Africa by the same comprehensive
‎margin in the decider.

‎Zambia were also rampant in 2016 as they stormed through that competition and inflicted a
‎2-1 defeat on hosts South Africa in the decider.
‎
‎
‎They went on to claim the 2017 Africa Under-20 Championship title on home soil and also
‎excelled at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.

‎But the side disappointed in the COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championship that year, bowing
‎out in the first round after a defeat to East African guest nation Uganda was followed by a
‎draw with Malawi and a win over Eswatini.

‎They did make the semi-finals in 2018 but lost 2-1 to Zimbabwe and were then beaten 2-1
‎by Angola in the bronze-medal match.

‎They reached the semi-finals again in 2020, a competition played in South Africa, winning all
‎three pool matches against Namibia (1-0), Comoros (2-0) and Malawi (2-0).

‎They came unstuck in the semi-finals, though, when they were held 0-0 by Mozambique
‎before losing 5-4 on penalties. They were then beaten 2-1 by Angola in the bronze-medal
‎match.

‎Zambia have also been fairly regular visitors to the Africa Under-20 Championship and have
‎appeared at the continental tournament on 11 previous occasions.
Apart from their gold medal in 2017, they also finished fourth in 1991, 1999 and 2007.

‎ZAMBIA COSAFA UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHES SINCE 1999
‎
1999 – Winners
‎2000 – Quarterfinals
‎2001 – Third
‎2002 – Fourth
‎2003 – Winners
‎2004 – Runners-up
‎2005 – Third
‎2006 – Runners-up
‎2007 – Group stages
‎2008 – Group stages
‎2009 – Runners-up
‎2010 – Winners
‎2011 – Winners
‎2013 – Group stages
‎2016 – Winners
‎2017 – Group stages
‎2018 – Fourth
‎2019 – Winners
‎2020 – Fourth
‎2022 – Winners
‎2024 – Runners-up
‎2025 – Third

(By COSAFA Media)

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