Amajita suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat against Mozambique on Friday, ending their hopes of qualifying for the 2023 AFCON set for Egypt.
This comes after South Africa’s Under 20 side succumbed to defeat to defending champions Mozambique in the COSAFA semifinal clash at Somhlolo Stadium in Eswatini on Friday.
Before the game, Mozambique coach Dario Monterio had stated they Amajita as they are one of the strongest teams in the COSAFA region.
His opposite number, Vela Khumalo, had noted that their opponents were one of the organised teams, citing that they were also tactically sound.
The Mozambicans showed their tactical superiority when they got an early goal in the 10th minute from Alfandega.
Just five minutes after the restart, captain Abdalla’s header added to the scoreline for the defending champions.
However, Khumalo’s charges were not discouraged as they fought hard to bounce back to contention.
In the 25th minute, Mduduzi Shabalala provided a beautiful pass to Wandile Duba, who made no mistake pulling one back for Amajita.
Right on the stroke of the half-time, Traore received his second yellow, which led to Mozambique being reduced to 10 men.
The second stanza was end-to-end stuff, with both teams failing to convert their clear-cut chances in the final third.
In the end, Mozambiqueue cruised to this year’s COSAFA Under 20 tournament finals. The side will face either Zambia or Angola in the final.
As a result, Mozambique crashed Khumalo’s ultimate goal to qualify for the 2023 AFCON and the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Indonesia.
WHAT KHUMALO HAD PLANNED TO ACHIEVE IN THE COSAFA TOURNAMENT
“We need to get past this stage [COSAFA competition] and qualify for the AFCON in Egypt next year. Then I will be; itpy, it is the plan,” he told SAFA media before the competition.
“And it will help us forget about all the challenges we had to face,” he said in an interview with SAFA media.
RELATED STORY: The bold statement Vela Khumalo made about Chiefs’ reserve side
