South Africa defeated Botswana 3-0 to ensure the silver medal at the 2024 COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship, while Mozambique and Lesotho played to a thrilling 3-3 draw on the final day of the competition at the UJ Soweto Campus Stadium on Sunday.
Zambia were crowned champions on Saturday following the completion of their four fixtures, where they claimed a full haul of 12 points, scoring 19 goals and not conceding a single one. They join East African guest nation Tanzania as winners of the trophy that was first played in 2019, and has not appeared on the calendar since.
South Africa were assured of the silver medal before kick-off against Botswana, but put in a fine display to underline their status as the second best team in the competition. South Africa dominated proceedings in their final group stage match, securing a convincing victory as Julia Goncalves scored a hat-trick.
The first half saw balanced play from both teams until South Africa began to take control. Goncalves broke the deadlock in the 44th minute with a stunning strike, giving South Africa a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
In the 74th minute, Goncalves struck again, completing her brace to double South Africa’s lead. Moments later, she converted a penalty in the 79th minute, securing her hat-trick and putting the game beyond Botswana’s reach.
Mozambique scored late to claim a thrilling 3-3 draw with Lesotho in the first game on Sunday. Lesotho struck first in the 10th minute, with Tsoaeli Tholoana giving them an early lead. Just six minutes later, a brilliant assist from Retsepile Maputle set up Limpho Mafana to double the advantage, putting Lesotho firmly ahead at 2-0.
Mozambique responded in the 24th minute through Beatriz Zaqueu, narrowing the gap to 2-1. Armenia Machava then delivered a stunning free-kick two minutes later, levelling the score at 2-2.
Lesotho regained their lead in the 39th minute when Tebello Lekote found the back of the net, making it 3-2 heading into halftime. Despite both teams trading brief attacking spells, neither managed to find the back of the net until late in the game.
